
^4-4- 



Class. 

Book P-^S_2 

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COPyRlGHT DEPOSIT. 



PETEEBOKOUGH 

NEW HAMPSHIRE 



IN THE 



AMERICAN REVOLUTION 



BY 

JONATHAN SMITH 

President of the Clinton (Mass.) Historical Society 



Published by the 

PETERBOROUGH HISTORICAL SOCIETY 

1913 






COPTBIGHT 1913 
BT 

JONATHAN SMITH 



THE W. J. COULTER PRESS 
CLINTON, MASS. 



»CI.A351157 



*^ History comes like a beggarly gleaner in the field, after 
Death the great Lord of the domain has gathered the crop 
with his mighty hand and lodged it in his garner, which no 
man can open.''^ 

Godwin. 



PREFACE 



IN all great crises like the American Revolution or the 
Civil War, the daily life and industrial condition of the 
people concerned in the struggle, their responsibilities and 
burdens imposed by passing events, their economic situa- 
tion and the spirit and temper they brought to the discharge 
of the duties laid upon them by the conflict, are always fruit- 
ful fields for historical investigation and study. Hence this 
effort to tell what the people of Peterborough did during the 
War for Independence, how they lived and how they dis- 
charged the obligations demanded of them by the needs of 
the time. 

It has not been the intent of the writer to give a history 
of the Revolution or to re-write the story of its many battles 
and campaigns. Some documents of the period have been 
inserted which exhibit the stress of a particular military 
emergency, and which set forth the views and opinions of 
leading men upon the crisis then impending; or which de- 
scribe the hardships of the men during campaigns in which 
Peterborough had many soldiers engaged. All these throw 
light upon the situation as it directly affected the people of 
the town, and furnish the motives and explain the causes 
which spurred them to the action they took to meet a 
condition of affairs they were called to face and answer. 
While these letters, circulars and orders were of general 



application they were as pertinent to and as compulsory 
upon the people of Peterborough as upon those of any other 
town. 

The poverty of the town records upon everything relating 
to the war: the total absence of papers and private memo- 
rials of the people and the lack of local information in the 
newspapers of the day, have rendered the task of writing a 
complete and satisfactory history of the town in the Revolu- 
tion one of great difficulty and embarrassment. If a perusal 
of these pages disappoints the reader because of what they 
do not contain, the author himself confesses to a greater 
disappointment still. But enough has been gathered to 
convey some idea of the trials and hardships and the 
patience and patriotism with which the town met and dis- 
charged its duty. Every source of information throwing 
light upon the local situation and upon individual or collec- 
tive action has been freely used and incorporated into the 
narrative. Due credit has been given to the authorities by 
reference to which the statements of the text can be verified. 

The writer desires to express his obligation and gratitude 
to Hon. Ezra S. Stearns for his invaluable and painstaking 
assistance, especially in the preparation of the personal 
sketches of the soldiers ; to William A. Scott, Esq., of Fargo, 
North Dakota, for his careful revision of soldiers' sketches 
relating to the Scott and Robbe families; and also to Miss 
Caroline Smith for her wise criticisms and her revision of 
portions of the manuscript. 

JONATHAN SMITH. 

Clinton^ Mass.;, June, 1913. 



CONTENTS 



Page 
CHAPTER I. 

Peterborough In Frencli and Indian War — Condition of Town in 
1755. Policy of France in the New World — Attitude of 
Indians toward the Settlers — Settlements on the Upper 
Connecticut — ^Character of the Peterborough settlers — 
Personal sketches of the Peterborough soldiers — Battle of 
March 13, 1758 — Names of Peterborough men in the fight — 
Names of those killed and who escaped — Account of Rogers's 
expedition — Rogers's Narrative — Suffering of the men — 
Robert Rogers 1 

CHAPTER II. 

Beginnings of the Revolution — Population of Peterborough in 
1767, 1773, 1775 — Population of neighboring towns — Social 
and economic condition of the people — ^The militia of the 
Town in 1775 — Roll of Captain Alexander Robbe's Company 
— Committees of Correspondence — Circulars of Second Pro- 
vincial Congress — Third Provincial Congress — ^Fourth Pro- 
vincial Congress — 'County Congress — ^Character of Governor 
Wentworth — Letter to Selectmen of Temple — Revolutionary 
acts of the Provincial Congress — ^The Continental Congress 
and its work 24 

CHAPTER III. 

In prosecution of the War — Absence of local records — ^Agree- 
ment of Enlistment — Supplies sent to Cambridge — Manner 
of raising men — Military population of towns — The army 
ration of 1775 and 1862 — Supplies for the Army — Outfit of 
the soldiers — Raising men for the Continental Army, and 
how done — Action of Town in raising its quotas — Names of 
the three-years men — Action of Town In paying its men — 
Beef for the Army and the action of the town thereon — 
Foreign Commerce during the Revolution — Difficulties in 



VII 

Page 
carrying on the war — Hardships of the men in the field — 

Wiggles'worth's letter — ^Noah Emery's letter — The retreat 
from Ticonderoga — 'Soldiers' letter to Selectmen of New 
Ipswich — 'Suppression of the Tories — Powers of the Com- 
mittee of Safety and their methods of dealing with British 
sjrmpathizers — Pedlars — Jotham Blanchard reported — ^The 
case of David Hills — ^Fixing price of goods — Table of prices 
— Efforts to check extravagance — People admonished to 
economy and prudence — Banishment of Tories — John 
Morrison 43 

CHAPTER IV. 
Campaigns of 1775 and 1776 — The Alarm at Peterborough, April 
19, 1775 — Robert Wilson's Company — ^Names of Peterborough 
men at Cambridge — In Colonel Sargent's regiment — Colonel 
Stark's regiment — ^Colonel Reed's regiment — ^Colonel Brew- 
er's, Colonel Prescott's and Colonel Woodbridge's regi- 
ments — ^Number of Peterborough men in Bunker Hill Cam- 
paign — Men wounded in Battle of Bunker Hill — Peter- 
borough men in Arnold's expedition — Men at Cambridge in 
winter of 1775 and 1776 — Raising men to reinforce army 
in Canada — ^Peterborough men in Colonel Wyman's regi- 
ment — In Colonel Baldwin's regiment — for the reinforce 
ment of Ticonderoga — ^Letter of John Hancock — Bounties 
for enlistment into Continental Army — Names of men in 
Continental Army — Application by the Town to the State 
for arms and ammunition 85 

CHAPTER V. 

Campaigns of 1777, 1781— ^Close of Campaigns of 1776 — Plans of 
British ministry for 1777 — Their comprehensive and sweep- 
ing character — Their failure and the causes thereof — 
Circular of Josiah Bartlett — ^Names of soldiers for defense 
of Ticonderoga — Order of General Folsom — ^Captain Alex- 
ander Robbe's Company — Draft of militia ordered — ^General 
Burgoyne's instructions to Colonel Baum — Men in Benning- 
ton Campaign — ^In Colonel Nichols's regiment — In Colonel 
Moore's regiment — ^Description of Captain Parker's Company 
on its departure for Bennington — General Stark's descrip- 
tion of the battle of Bennington — ^Names of men in Colonel 
Cilley's three-years' regiment — ^Names of men in Colonel 
Henry Jackson's (Mass.) regiment — ^Prisoners at Benning- 
ton — ^Burgoyne's men in Peterborough — Men in the Rhode 



vm 

Page 
Island Campaign in 1778 — Men enlisting into Continental 

Army in 1778 — Men in Colonel Mooney's regiment in 1779 — 

Efforts to fill up the Continental Army — Bounties offered — 

Claim of Town in regard to quota — Petition of Captain 

Scott — Names of men furnished in 1780 — ;Letter of Colonel 

Nichols — Names of men enlisting in 1781 — Men in the army 

in 1782 — List of Peterorough men killed or died of disease 

during the war — and of those wounded 102 

CHAPTER VI. 
Evils of the currency — Trade with Great Britain and other 
countries during Revolution — Currency issued by Provin- 
cial Congress and Assembly — Amounts in different years — 
Effect upon prices — and Contracts — Petition of Soldiers in 
regard to their pay — Rates of depreciation established in 
1780 and 1781 — Counterfeiting the Currency — Activity in 
the British and Tories — ^^Line of posts between London- 
derry and New York — Efforts to check counterfeiting — 
Penalties — Attempts to check the decline in price of the 
currency — Its final redemption 130 

CHAPTER VII. 
Life in Peterborough during Revolution — Social and Industrial 
conditions and habits, 1775-1783 — Manners of the people — 
Loyalty to their church — Loss of men in the war — ^Absence 
of men in the army — Effect — Women's outdoor labor — 
Labors of the household — Incident — Communications be- 
tween the army and the homes — Economy of the people — 
Absence of public meetings — Methods of filling quotas — 
Increase of State and local taxation — ^Financial burdens of 
the war — Hardships of the people 142 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Revolutionary Pensions — Policy of State and Congress up to 
1818— Acts of 1789, 1793, 1806, 1818, 1820— List of Peter- 
'borough soldiers stricken from rolls and restored — Act of 
June 7, 1832 — ^List of Peterborough soldiers pensioned — Pen- 
sioners living in Peterborough in 1840 — 'Provision for fami- 
lies of men in service 153 



CHAPTER I. 

PETERBOROUGH IN THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR.* 

At the outbreak of the French and Indian war of 1755- 
'63, Peterborough had been permanently settled only six 
years. After several unsuccessful efforts the people had, by 
1755, come to believe that at last their desire was realized, 
and their purpose to found a town and make for themselves 
a new home had come to fulfilment. They were hard at 
work clearing away the forests and building their homes of 
logs; one or two saw and grist mills had been established; 
they were beginning to acquire property in domestic live 
stock, and the fear of Indians was beginning to die out. 
The number of families was from thirty-five to forty. The 
outbreak of another dreaded Indian war was a rude awaken- 
ing from their dream of peace. 

The settlers were a brave and sturdy people, familiar 
with the hardships and sufferings of war acquired in the 
civil and religious conflicts in Ireland. But much as they 
dreaded it, this contest appealed strongly to them both on 
political and religious grounds. They had not forgotten 
that the French had been their old foes in Ireland, and that 
in the final struggle between the Prince of Orange and the 
deposed English king, which culminated in the Battle of the 
Boyne, July 1, 1690, France was found fighting under the 
banner of James II, and its soldiers composed a substantial 
part of his defeated army. They realized, too, that the 
effort of the French king to found a permanent colony in 

*The substance of this chapter was published by the author in the "Granite 
Monthly" for August, 1902. 



2 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

Canada was to establish upon their borders the institutions 
of feudalism, monarchy, and Rome, which embodied all that 
was offensive to the independent, liberty-loving Scotch 
Irishman. 

The war was the turning point in the history of the 
Western continent, and on its issue hung the future of the 
new world. Early in the seventeenth century, when France 
turned her thoughts toward the establishment of colonies 
in North America, she laid down a plan of the most sweep- 
ing and far-reaching character. It included nothing less 
than the seizure of the whole continent and making all the 
Indian tribes subjects of the French king and the willing 
disciples of Eorae. By the provisions of the charter of the 
French Colonial company, organized in 1626, every settler 
was to be a Frenchman and a Catholic. The new possessions 
were to be kept free from every taint of heresy, and the 
Huguenot of Canada, because he was a Protestant and for 
no other reason, was to be harried out of the colony with as 
much cruelty and as little remorse as he had been driven 
from France itself. This policy was consistently carried 
out. In the prosecution of the scheme the Jesuits were its 
pioneers and active promoters. They aimed to subdue and 
convert the Indians not so much by the sword as by the 
cross. Their purpose was to control the savage tribes by 
bringing them into the Catholic church and to make them 
her willing and obedient children both for peace and war. 
By 1755 France had established a chain of military posts 
reaching from Quebec to the Ohio river, and was endeavor- 
ing to complete the cordon by extending it to the mouth of 
the Mississippi. The intent was to confine the English to a 
narorw fringe along the Atlantic coast. With the Indians 
for allies, French statesmen reckoned the day would surely 
come, and that soon, when in the event of war with England 
they could easily drive the hated English settlers into llic 
sea and thus reign supreme in the new world. This bold 
plan failed from the inherent weakness of French civiliza- 
tion itself for all colonizing purposes. Between Jesuit and 



In the Frencli and Indian War. 3 

noble, French administration in Canada was corrupt and 
weak. It was all head, with no integrity, no sense of moral 
responsibility, no enlightened public spirit at the heart. 
The results became apparent at once when war was de- 
clared, and the defeat of France in the end was inevitable. 
But this internal weakness was not evident to the colo- 
nists in the beginning of the struggle, and they believed they 
had a desperate conflict before them. Both they and the 
mother country realized that it was to be a battle for the 
possession of a continent, and on its issue dej^ended whether 
the Latin civilization of France, with its despotism, its cor- 
ruption of administration, its bigotry and religious intol- 
erance was to be the universal law of the new world, or 
whether Anglo-Saxon ideas of political liberty and religious 
toleration were to prevail throughout its borders. 

But the war appealed to the settler for another reason 
more direct and personal. The French policy, in its deal- 
ings with the Indians, had been radically different from that 
of England. The emigrants from Great Britain had, so far 
as possible, ignored the Indian altogether, and did not take 
him into account. If the English settler wanted land he 
bought it of the native for a mere song, or fought him and 
seized it by act of war. The institution of a religious propa- 
ganda among the savages and the idea of converting them to 
the Potestant faith were minor considerations, and, with a 
few insignificant exceptions, received no attention. To seek 
savage alliance and friendship was no part of the English- 
man's general scheme. He came here either to enjoy the re- 
ligious freedom he so much coveted, or to better his fortunes 
by trade through the different avenues of industry. On the 
other hand the French idea was to enlarge the empire of 
France by adding to its territories the northern half of the 
Western hemisphere, and the details of the plan were care- 
fully worked out in the councils of the French king. 
French administration sought to carry out this great pro- 
ject through a policy of conciliation and friendship with the 
Indians. The idea had its origin with the Roman hierarchy, 



4 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

which strove to bring every peoi)le, whether barbarous or 
civilized, into the fold of the Catholic church. Its ministers 
were the Jesuit priests, powerfully supported by tlie French 
king and his nobles, who were trained in the precepts and 
faith taught in the schools of Loyola. The Jesuits had, long 
before 1755, established and sustained missions among all 
the Indian tribes east of the Mississippi and north of the 
Ohio river, except upon the Atlantic coast. These missions 
were centers of French influence, and had acquired a vast 
sway over the savages, making them fast friends of France 
and the French policy. But they had lost the support of the 
Six Nations, through an ill-advised battle in which Cham- 
plain had severely defeated them. With this exception 
France had won the friendship of the Indian tribes east of 
the "Father of Waters," and the sympathy of those dwelling 
among the English settlements east of the Alleghany moun- 
tains. The result was that when war was on between the 
two great powers, France had the hearty support of the 
Indian tribes of Canada and the great Northwest, and the 
outbreak of the conflict in 1755 was, as the settlers well 
knew, a signal for lighting the savage fires of conflagration 
and murder in all the frontier settlements of New England. 

The colonists fully realizing their danger knew what was 
before them when hostilities broke out, and braced them- 
selves for the conflict. There was an additional peril to the 
border settlers of New Hampshire. During the war which 
closed in 1748, the French and Indian invasions from 
Canada had entered the Connecticut and Merrimack river 
valleys by way of the Coos meadows along the upper waters 
of the Connecticut river. To command this highway of com- 
munication and depredation was of great consequence to the 
colonists, and the authorities determined to occupy it and 
thus close this door to savage raids. In the winter of 1751- 
'52 grants were made of two townships on the upper Connec- 
ticut, one on each side of the river, and in the following 
spring a committee was sent up there to survey and lay out 
the new towns, build forts and prepare for the establishment 



In the French and Indian War. 5 

of colonies. The Indians owning these lands and seeing 
what was intended, were exasperated and determined on 
retaliation. A desultory warfare ensued, accompanied by 
acts of reprisal and revenge on either side, and hostilities of 
the kind incident to Indian warfare were in progress, when 
the conflict of 1755 broke out, though no raids had extended 
as far south as Peterborough. The declaration of war, as 
the settlers of New Hampshire well understood, was a gen- 
eral signal for savage forays, to be more cruel and deadly 
on account of the happenings in the upper Connecticut val- 
leys. They did not know where the attack would strike, for 
it usually came when and where least expected. They did 
know it would be more swift and vengeful by this seizure of 
Indian lands at the Coos meadows. 

The Peterborough settlement was peculiarly exposed to 
these savage incursions, and was in a defenseless condition. 
There was a fort on Ritchie Hill but it had no garrison. 
There were small settlements at Hinsdale, Keene, Penacook, 
and up along the Merrimack valley between Concord and 
Franklin; other than these there was no barrier between 
Peterborough and Canada. But the settlers were brave and 
determined men, inheriting the military instincts of their 
ancestors in the mother country, and were as ready to fight 
for their homes here as their fathers had been for civil and re- 
ligious freedom in Scotland and Ireland. The town was 
not organized as a municipal corporation until 1760, and the 
military service of the men was the spontaneous expression 
of their patriotism and their appreciation of the issues in- 
volved in the struggle. The following is the list of those 
from Peterborough entering the army during the war. The 
names are arranged alphabetically, with such brief details 
of their personal and military career as can now be ob- 
tained : 



Allat_, David. Family unknown, but was without doubt 
a resident of Peterborough in 1760. Private in Capt. Nehe- 
miah Lovewell's company of John Goflfe's regiment. En- 



6 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

listed March IS, 1700, and was discharged at No. 4, Novem- 
ber 13, 1760. Length of service, thirty-four weeks one day. 
On the rolls his name is given as David Alld. Possibly a 
brother of William Alld, and was born in Ireland. 



Cunningham, Samuel, a son of Thomas Cunningham, 
who settled on the "Street Road," so-called ; born in 1738, in 
Townsend. Said to have served in the army in 1750, when 
he was only seventeen years old, but no record of such 
service can be found. The same authority (Mr. Dunbar) 
says he was in Kogers's bloody fight of March 13, 1758, when 
so many Peterborough men were killed. He was one of the 
very few who escaped on that day. March 16, 1700, he en- 
listed into Captain Willard's company of Colonel Oliver 
Wilder's regiment, and served till December 15, thirty-four 
weeks and five days. He was allowed 135 miles' travel and 
his pay was £10, 10s. 3d. Probably on the Crown Point ex- 
pedition of that year. Served in the Revolution. 



CuNNiNGHAM_, Thomas. There is doubt as to the identity 
of this man. On page forty-seven of ''Genealogies of Peter- 
borough Families," Dr. Smith refers to a Thomas Cunning- 
ham as the son of ''old Mose." Aside from this reference 
there is nothing in any military roll yet found, or in any 
paper or record relating to the history of the town, to dis- 
tinguish him from the Thomas Cunningham who signed the 
petition for a town charter in 1700, and the two are probably 
identical. He was born in 1700, in Ireland, and came to 
Peterborough from Townsend, Mass. He enlisted in Capt. 
Robert Rogers's company of Rangers, November 23, 1755, 
and served till May 22, 1750 — twenty-six weeks. His resi- 
dence on the rolls is given as Peterborough ; rank, sergeant. 
He was allowed for pay £11, Is, Id., for bounty £2, 13s. 
4d, and travel, and served at Fort William Henry. Mr. 
Dunbar says he was in Rogers's expedition in March, 1758, 
but was not in the battle. Probably, along with Alexander 
Scott, he was left behind to guard the camp while the others 



In the French and Indian War. 7 

went on to meet the Indians. He was a prominent man in 
town for many years, and died in 1790, aged eighty-four 
years. 



Cunningham^ William, a son of Thomas Cunningham, 
and brother of Samuel above named. Enlisted into Captain 
Kogers's company of Rangers, November 25, 1755; dis- 
charged June 6, 1756; length of service, six months and 
twenty-four days. Pay, £15 per month old tenor. His com- 
pany was left by order of a council of war to garrison the 
forts above Lake George during the winter of 1755-'56. 
March 6, 1760, he enlisted into Capt. Silas Brown's company 

of Colonel regiment ; discharged December 9, 1760 ; 

time, thirty-nine weeks and six days. Pay, £17, 18s^ 9d. On 
the rolls his residence is given as Dunstable, but he was, 
without doubt, the son of Thomas Cunningham, and should 
be accredited to Peterborough. He afterward went to Maine 
and died there. 



Ferguson^ HENRy_, came to Peterborough with his father 
in 1749 or 1750. Enlisted into Capt. Richard Sykes's com- 
pany of Col. Abijah Willard's regiment, March 18, 1760; 
served till December 19, 1760, thirty-nine weeks and four 
days. Received for pay £17, 16s. 2d.; was allowed for 205 
miles' travel home. On the rolls his residence is given as 
New Hampshire. Served in Revolution. 



Gregg^ Samuel^ was born in Londonderry in 1738, and 
came to town some time prior to 1760. About 1757 he en- 
listed into the British army and held the rank of sergeant. 
He took part in the siege of Louisburg and was also in the 
campaign in Canada in 1759, and was present at the battle 
of Quebec, which decided the issue of the war. Date of en- 
listment and discharge unknown, as no rolls of his regiment 



8 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

are in this country. At the beginning of the Revolution he 
was offered a commission in the English array, but refused 
it. He died in Peterborough, December 10, 1808, aged 70 
years. (See Dr. Smith's Genealogies, page 98, from which 
the above sketch is taken.) 



HoGG^ JoHN^ was a private in Capt. Nehemiah Lovewell's 
company of Col. John Hart's regiment; enlisted May 8,. 
1758; discharged November 12, 1758. Term, twenty-six 
weeks and five days. Nothing is known of him or his family 
beyond this record. In a plan of lands in Peterborough, 
now in possession of the heirs of the Masonian Proprietors, 
dated 1758, he is put down as owner of Lot No. 55, iu the 
western part of the town. A part of Col. Hart's regiment 
went to Louisburg and the other part to the western fron- 
tier. There is no means of telling in which direction Capt. 
Lovewell's company was ordered. Contracted small-pox in 
service and died on his return home. 



Kelly^ John. Enlisted into Paul Gerrish's company of 
Col. Theodore Atkinson's regiment, September 19, 1755; 
discharged December 11, 1755. He was clerk of his com- 
pany. He was also a member of the force raised out of 
Colonel Atkinson's regiment of militia for the Canadian 
expedition in 1759. He enlisted March 23, 1759; date of 
discharge not found. For this service he was paid £6, Is, 
6d Dr. Smith, in his history, states that he was killed in 
Rogers's fight, March 13, 1758, but Mr. Dunbar does not 
include his name among those in the battle. He was 
brought up by Rev. Mr. Harvey, who preached in Peter- 
borough for several years. The date and place of Kelly's 
death, as well as his subsequent career, are unknown. Like 
so many of the heroes of this war his name disappears ab- 
solutely with the conclusion of the struggle. 



McLeod^ or McClourg^ George. Was a private in Capt. 
Jonathan Butterfield's company of Col. Jonathan Bagley's 



In the French and Indian War. 9 

regiment. Enlisted, April 14, 1760; discharged, December 
1, 1760. Service, thirty-three weeks, one day. He was 
allowed for seventy-five miles' travel home. On the rolls his 
residence is given as "Peterboro." Served afterward in the 
Revolution. 



RoBBE_, Alexander. Came with his father to town from 
Townsend. He served in Rogers's Rangers, was present 
and took part in the battle of March 13, 1758, and was one 
of the two Peterborough men who escaped alive. The dates 
of his entry and discharge from the service are unknown, 
as the rolls of Rogers's companies, with one exception, are 
lost. He was afterward a captain in the Revolutionary 
war. 



ScoTT;, Alexander. Name is not found on any military 
roll. Mr. Dunbar is authority for the statement that he was 
with Captain Rogers in his disastrous expedition of March, 
1758. From his account Scott was one of those left behind 
to guard the camp. He is supposed to have been one of the 
earliest settlers of Peterborough. He came to America from 
Ireland about 1730, and settled in Townsend, or Lancaster, 
Mass. In 1753 he kept the public house in Peterborough, 
afterward owned by Robert Wilson, on the Street road. In 
1758 he was back in Townsend, but subsequently returned to 
Peterborough, settling on land east of the old cemetery. 



Scott, David. Born in Townsend in 1744, son of Alex- 
ander Scott, the preceding. Enlisted into Captain Wil- 
lard's company of Col. Timothy Ruggles's regiment, March 
6, 1760; discharged, December 16, 1760. Length of service, 
forty weeks, six days. Was allowed for 135 miles' travel 
home. Pay, £18, 17s^ 9(Z. On the rolls he is given as the 
son of Alexander Scott. He contracted small-pox, and died 
on his return home, according to Dunbar's sketch of Peter- 
borough, written about 1820. 



10 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

ScoTT^ William. Nicknamed "Long Bill" to distinguish 
Lim from his cousin, William Scott, of Peterborough, who 
was called "Short Bill." He was son of Alexander Scott 
and brother of David, above named. Born in Townsend, in 
1742. Enlisted into Capt. Silas Brown's company of Col. 

regiment, March 6, 17G0; discharged, December 8, 

1760. Term, thirty-nine weeks, five days. On the rolls the 
name of his father or master is given as Alexander Scott. 
He was allowed for 180 miles' travel home, and his pay was 
£17, 17s, G(/. June 2, 17G1, he enlisted into Captain Far- 

riugton's coinpan}^ of Colonel regiment, and served 

till January 1, 17G2. Service, tliirtj' weeks and four days. 
On this roll, also, he is stated to be the son of Alexander 
Scott, and his residence is given Peterborough. He served 
in the Revolution and held the rank of captain. He was the 
ancestor of the late Hon. Albert S. Scott, and of Col. Charles 
Scott, ex-high sheriff of Hillsborough county. 



Scott, William^ brother of Alexander Scott, and grand- 
father of James Scott, Esq., late of Peterborough, deceased. 
Age at enlistment as stated on the military rolls, forty 
years. Enlisted into Capt. James Reed's company of 
Timothy Ruggles's regiment, March 31, 17oG, discharged 
December 5, 175G. Service, thirty-five weeks, five days. 
Rank, sergeant. He was transferred to Captain Reed's 
company from Captain AVil son's company of Colonel Blan- 
chard's regiment of militia. In the latter regiment he is 
stated to be a volunteer. Residence given as "Petters 
Borow;" in the muster roll of Captain Reed's company it is 
spelled "Peterborough." He served in the expedition to 
Crown Point and afterward in the War of the Revolution. 



Scott, Willlvm. Nicknamed "Short Bill," to distin- 
guish him from his cousin, William Scott, son of Alexander 
Scott. A nephew of Alexander Scott and William Scott. 
Born in Ireland in 1743. His father, Archibald Scott, never 
came to this country. Enlisted into Captain Silas 



tn the French and Indian War. 11 

Brown's company of Colonel regiment, November 

18, 1761; served till April 25, 1762. Length of 
service, five months, seven days. Served in the Revolution- 
ary war, and rose to the rank of major. On the rolls his 
residence is given as Peterborough. His descendants live 
in Buffalo, N. Y., Greenfield, N. Y., and Philadelphia, Pa. 
He is supposed to have come to Peterborough in 1760, and 
continued to make his home there until the Revolution. 



Stinson^ Moor^ was the son of Samuel Stinson, one of 
the earliest settlers of the town. Date and place of birth 
unknown, April 28, 1760, he enlisted into Capt. Silas 
Brown's company of Colonel regiment and was dis- 
charged December 8, 1760. Length of service, thirty-two 
weeks and one day. On the military rolls the name of his 
father or master is given as Samuel Stinson, and his resi- 
dence Lunenburg, where he was probably at work at the 
time of enlistment. He was a highway surveyor in Peter- 
borough in 1767. Died in Peterborough, April 29, 1769, 
aged 27 years. 

SwAN_, William^ was the son of John Swan, one of the 
pioneers of the town. Born about 1721, and was married 
when he enlisted. His first service was in Nova Scotia. 
Enlisted May 31, 1751, in Capt. William Pierce's company 
of Colonel Winslow's regiment. Served till October 8, 1754. 
Term, four months, two weeks, five days. Residence, Lunen- 
burg. He again enlisted March 27, 1759, into Captain 
Aaron Willard's company of Col. Oliver Wilder's regiment, 
under command of Jeffrey Amherst, and served till October 
26, 1759 — thirty weeks and four days. From October 14 
to October 16 he was in the hospital at Albany. On the roll 
his residence is given as Peterborough. The same roll says, 
''Reported to have served on a former expedition in 1755 to 
Nova Scotia." In Dr. Smith's genealogies it is stated that 
he "died in French war." And the same authority says 
his widow married again, returned to Dublin, and had 
nine children. No military roll so far found mentions his 



12 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

death, nor does Mr. Dunbar speak of his death in the service. 
Possibly he might have again enlisted alter his discharge in 
October, 1759, and it might have occurred during that term 
of service. 



Taggart^ John. Came from Roxbury to Peterborough 
about 1752. Born in 1720; was married and had seven 
children at the time he entered the service. March 24, 17G0, 
he enlisted into Capt. Nehemiah Lovewell's company of 
Ool. John Goffe's regiment, raised for the invasion of 
Canada. He was afterwards transferred into Capt. Alex- 
ander Todd's company of the same regiment. Discharged 
November 22, 1760, at No. 4 (Charlestowu, N. H.). This 
regiment rendezvoused at Litchfield and marched by way of 
Milford over the notch in the East mountains, through 
Peterborough to Keene, thence to No. 4, and from there to 
Crown Point. They had to clear a road, formerly a mere 
bridle path, from the Merrimack river to Keene, and were 
forty-four days cutting a road from No. 4 to the foot of the 
Green mountains. They hauled their stores over the Green 
mountains on "horse barrows." He entered the Revolution- 
ary war and commanded a company from Sharon in the 
Ticonderoga alarm in 1777. 



Turner,, James. Probably a son of Joseph Turner, and 
born in Ireland, and brother of Thomas Turner. Enlisted 
into Capt. Jonathan Butterfield's company of Colonel Bag- 
ley's regiment. May 19, 1760, and was discharged October 
20, 1760. Time, twenty-two weeks and one day. Received 
as pay £9, 19s^ 4d. His residence on the rolls is stated to 
be Peterborough. No mention of his death can be found 
on the miliary rolls. If he "died at Crown Point in 1760," 
as stated by Mr. Dunbar, it must have been after his dis- 
charge, from anything which appears of record. No infor- 
mation of any other enlistment can be found. 



Turner, Solomon. Another son of Joseph Turner. En- 



In the French and Indian War. 13 

listed April 14, 1760, discharged December 24, 1760. Com- 
pany and regiment not given. On the rolls his residence is 
given as Harvard, and the name of his father or master, 
Joseph Turner. He was allowed for 180 miles' travel home, 
and served on the expedition to Crown Point. 



Wallace^ or Wallis, Samuel. Probably a brother of 
Matthew Wallace, a native of Londonderry, who came to 
Peterborough some time before 1755. Enlisted as a private 
in Capt. Alexander Todd's company of Col. John Gofife's 
regiment, March 14, 1760. Rolls do not give date of dis- 
charge, nor furnish any further information of him. Subse- 
quent career unrecorded and unknown. 



Wilson^ Robert^ born in Ireland in 1734, came to this 
country with his parents in 1737, and settled in Cambridge, 
but moved to Townsend in 1738 or 1739. He was appren- 
ticed to one Deacon Loring of Lexington. Before his time 
was out he enlisted into Captain Hancock's company of 
Colonel Brattle's regiment of militia. When the call for 
troops came he enlisted from this militia regiment into 
Captain Lord's company of Colonel Gridley's regiment, 
April 22, 1756, served till December 5, 1756. Length of 
term, thirty-two weeks and four days. On the rolls his age 
is given as twenty-two years; occupation, farmer; resi- 
dence, Lexington, and he is reported as wounded in one of 
the battles, but the rolls do not say which one. This is his 
only military service in the French and Indian war of 
which any record can be found in the Massachusetts 
Archives. It is a fact, however, taken from a sketch written 
of him by his grandson, the late Gen. James Wilson, of 
Keene, that he served under General Wolf, took part in the 
siege and battle of Quebec, September 13, 1759, saw his com- 
mander fall and passed the following night assisting in 
guarding the French prisoners. At this time he was prob- 
ably a member of some regiment of the British regular army, 
as was Samuel Gregg, above named, of which no rolls exist 



14 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

in this country. The dates of his enlistment and discharge 
from the regulars are unknown. He came to Peterborough 
about 1761 or 17G2. He was afterwards a lieutenant, cap- 
tain, and major in the militia, and served in the Revolution. 

Of Jeremiah Swan, a son of John Swan, Samuel Stinson, 
John McCollam, and John Turner, no record can be found 
on any military roll. The authority for their military ser- 
vice rests upon the sketch of the town by Rev. Elijah Dun- 
bar, printed in 1822, the correctness of which is borne out 
by the military rolls now existing, in all substantial particu- 
lars, so far as they testify at all, and there can be no reason- 
able doubt of Mr. Dunbar's statement. He says that Swan, 
McCollam, and Turner died in service. I'ossibly some or all 
of these men served in Rogers's Rangers, but that is mere 
surmise. It is to be deeply regretted that absolutely no 
record of their service can be found. 

It remains to speak of the men who served under Ca]>t. 
Rogers in 1757 and 1758, and who perished in the disastrous 
engagement of March 13, 1758. But one roll of Rogers's 
men — that of his company raised in 1755 — is known to exist, 
but possibly others can be found in the Archives of the 
British war office in London, as the men were enlisted under 
English orders and were paid by English officers. These 
men were Charles McCoy, John Stuart, David Wallace, 
William Wilson, Robert McNee, John Dinsmore, killed ; 
Alexander Robbe, Samuel Cunningham (above named), es- 
caped, and Alexander Scott and Thomas Cunningham, left 
behind to guard the camp, as before stated. In one partic 
ular Mr. Dunbar is in error. He states that the men fell in 
an ambuscade. We now know that there was no surprise, 
and that the battle was as fair and stand-up a fight as is 
recorded in all the annals of Indian warfare. Captain (or 
major) Rogers left a detailed account of the action, and his 
interesting narrative is here reproduced. 

On the 11th of January, 1758, Lord Loudon ordered 
Major Rogers to recruit five additional companies of rangers 
— four from New England and one company of Indians, to 



In the French and Indian War. 15 

be ready for service on the 4th of the next March. Each 
company was to have a captain, two lieutenants, one ensign 
four sergeants, and one hundred men. The officers were to 
have British pay, and the privates two shillings and six- 
pence. New York money. The men were to provide them- 
selves with good warm clothing, uniform in every company, 
and a good blanket. They also were to furnish their own 
arms to be approved by the government. The muskets used 
were smooth bore, carried buckshot or bullets, and some- 
times both. The time of enlistment was to be for not less 
than one year, and the men were to be at Fort Edward, ready 
for duty by March 15. Four of these companies were sent 
to Louisburg and the other stayed at Fort EdAvard. It is 
uncertain whether the Peterborough men belonged to this 
company remaining at Fort Edward, or whether they were 
attached to some of the companies of rangers previously 
recruited, and had been encamped there through the winter. 

On the 28th of February, Colonel Haviland, commandant 
at Fort Edward, ordered Capt. Israel Putnam out on a scout 
toward Ticonderoga. In this recounoissance one of his men 
was captured and taken to the enemy's headquarters; the 
rest returned and reported that there were 600 Indians 
cpmped near the enemy's fort. It was known by Putnam's 
men, when they left Fort Edward, that on their return 
Rogers was to be sent against Ticonderoga with a force of 
400 rangers. The enemy were thus warned of the intentions 
of the English commander. 

On Putnam's return Rogers was ordered to the neighbor- 
hood of Carrillon (Ticonderoga), but instead of having 
400 men he was given only 180, including officers. All of 
this number were rangers, except one captain, one lieu- 
tenant, one ensign, one sergeant, and four privates out of an 
English regiment who volunteered to accompany him. 
Rogers confesses that as he viewed this small force of brave 
men march out of Fort Edward on the expedition on the 
10th of March, he "had no little concern and uneasiness of 
mind," for he believed that the enemy were fully informed 



16 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

of their purpose. The first day they marchd to "half-way 
brook," on the road to Lake George. The second day, the 
eleventh, they reached the first narrows on the lake and 
camped for the night on the east side. Scouts were sent out 
three miles in advance to search for the enemy and the camp 
was carefully guarded by pickets against surprise. The 
troops marched down the lake on the ice, hauling their packs 
and equippage on sleds. They left their camp the next 
morning at sunrise. After marching about three miles a 
dog was seen running across the lake, when the companies 
suspecting the Indians must be near, halted, and a scouting 
party was sent forward to reconnoitre. But no enemy was 
found, and Rogers led his men to the west side of the lake 
at a place called "Sabbath Day Point," halted, and sent out 
scouting parties, while the rest of the company rested till 
evening. At dark they again started up the lake, Rogers send- 
ing a party of fifteen men forward, some of them on skates, as 
an advanced guard, while the left was protected by another 
detachment. The march was made in close order, and the 
night was very dark. In this way they marched till within 
eight miles of the outpost of the French force. A fire was 
discovered on the east shore and the commander of the ad- 
vanced guard sent back word that the enemy had been seen. 
After a careful reconnoissance Rogers called in his scouts 
and flanking parties, marched to the west shore of the lake, 
where the men hid their packs and sleighs in a thicket, left a 
small guard to watch them, and the rest went forward to 
attack tlie enemy. The French pickets had, however, taken 
the alarm, extinguished their fire and rejoined the main 
body. Rogers, thinking his scouts must have been mistaken 
about the fire, led his men back to where tliey had left their 
baggage and camped in the snow through the night without 
a fire. 

Rogers continues: "The 13th, in the morning I delib- 
erated with the officers how to proceed, who were unani- 
mously of opinion that it was best to go by land on snow- 
shoes, lest the enemy should discover us on the lake; we 



In the French and Indian War. 17 

accordingly continued our march on the west side, keeping 
on the back of the mountains that overlooked the French 
advanced guards. At twelve of the clock we halted two 
miles west of those guards, and then refreshed ourselves till 
three, that the day scouts from the fort might be returned 
home before we advanced, intending at night to ambuscade 
some of their roads in order to trepan them in the morning. 
We then moved in two divisions, the one headed by Captain 
Bulkley, the other by myself; Ensigns White and Wait had 
the rear guard, the other officers were posted properly in 
each division, having a rivulet at a small distance on our 
left, and a steep mountain on our right. We kept close to 
the mountain that the advanced guard might better observe 
the rivulet, on the ice of which I imagined they would travel 
if out, as the snow was four feet deep and very bad traveling 
on snowshoes. In this manner we marched a mile and a 
half when our advanced guard informed me of the enemy 
being in their view, and soon after, that they had ascer- 
tained their number to be ninety-six, chiefly Indians. We 
immediately laid down our packs and prepared for battle, 
supposing these to be the whole number or main body of the 
enemy, who were marching on our left up the rivulet on the 
ice. I ordered Ensign McDonald to the command of the ad- 
vanced guard, which, as we faced to the left, made a flanking 
party to our right. We marched to within a few yards of 
the bank, which was higher than the ground we occupied, 
and observing the ground gradually to descend from the 
bank of the rivulet to the foot of the mountain, we extended 
our party along the bank far enough to command the whole 
of the enemy at once; we waited till their front was nearly 
opposite our left wing, when I fired a gun, as a signal for a 
general discharge upon them, whereupon we gave them the 
first fire, which killed about forty Indians; the rest retreated 
and were pursued by about one-half of our people. I now 
imagined the enemy totally defeated, and ordered Ensign 
McDonald to head the flying number of them that none 
might escape ; but we soon found our mistake, and the party 
3 



18 Peterhorough in the Revolution. 

we had attacked were only their advanced guard, their main 
body coming up, consisting of 600 more, Canadians and 
Indians ; upon which I ordered our people to retreat to their 
own ground which we gained at the expense of fifty men 
killed; the remainder I rallied and drew up in pretty good 
order, where they fought with such intrepidity and bravery 
as obliged the enemy (though seven to one in number) to 
retreat a second time; but we not being in a condition to 
prevent them, they rallied again, and recovered their ground 
and warmly pushed us in front and both wings, while the 
mountain defended our rear; but they were so warmly re- 
ceived that their flanking parties soon retreated to their 
main body with considerable loss. This threw the whole 
again into disorder, and they retreated a third time; but our 
number being now too far reduced to take advantage of 
their disorder they rallied again and made a fresh attack 
upon us. About this time we discovered 200 Indians going 
up the mountain on our right, as we supposed to get posses- 
sion of the rising ground and attack our rear; to prevent 
which I sent Lieutenant Philips, with eighteen men, to gain 
the first possession, and beat them back ; which he did ; and 
being suspicious that the enemy would go round on our left 
and take possession of the other part of the hill, I sent 
Lieutenant Crofton, with fifteen men, to prevent them there ; 
and soon after desired two gentlemen, who were volunteers 
in the party, with a few men, to go and support him, which 
they did with great bravery. 

"The enemy pushed us so close in front that the parties 
w^ere not more than twenty yards asunder in general, and 
sometimes intermixed with each other. The firing continued 
almost constantly for an hour and a half from the beginning 
of the attack, in which time we lost eight officers and 
more than one hundred privates killed on the spot. We 
were at last obliged to break, and I, with about twenty men, 
ran up the hill to Philips and Crofton, when we stopped and 
fired on the Indians, wiio were eagerly pushing us, with 
numbers that we could not withstand. Lieutenant Philips 



In the French and Indian War. 19 

being surrounded by 300 Indians, was at this time capitulat- 
ing for himself and party on the other part of the hill. He 
spoke to me and said if the enemy would give them quarters 
he thought it best to surrender, otherwise he would fight 
while he had one man left to fire a gun. 

"I now thought it most prudent to retreat and bring off 
with me as many of my party as I possibly could, which I 
immediately did ; the Indians closely pursuing us at the same 
time, took several prisoners. We came to Lake George in 
the evening, where we found several wounded men, whom we 
took with us to the place where we had left our sleds, from 
whence I sent an express to Fort Edward, desiring Mr. 
Haviland to send a party to meet us and assist in bringing 
in the wounded; with the remainder I tarried there the 
whole night, without fire or blankets, and in the morning 
we marched up the lake and met Captain Stark at Hoop 
Island, six miles north from Fort William Henry, and en- 
camped there that night ; the next day being the 15th, in the 
evening we arrived at Fort Edward." 

Rogers estimates the enemy at 700, 600 of whom were 
Indians. He says: ''We killed 150 of them and wounded as 
many more." And he pathetically adds : "I will not pretend 
to determine what we should have done had we been 400 or 
more strong, but this I am obliged to say of those brave men 
who attended me (most of whom are now no more, both 
officers and soldiers in their respective stations behaved with 
uncommon resolution and courage, nor do I know of an in- 
stance during the whole action in which I can justly im- 
peach the prudence or good conduct of any of them." It is 
an eloquent tribute of a brave commander to the heroic men 
who fell. 

Rogers foots up the number of killed at 125 men, besides 
those who were captured and afterward murdered by the 
Indians. Of the 180 who marched out of Fort Edward with 
him on the morning of the 10th of March, not more than 25 
returned on the evening of the 15th. In this battle more 
Peterborough men were slain than in any other one battle in 



20 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

the whole history of the town. The next most fatal engage- 
ment was the second battle of Kiill Run, August 29 and 30, 
1862, when four perished. 

The French historian, Pouchot, gives this account of the 
battle: "On the 1st of March, a party of two hundred of our 
domiciled Indians and part Canadians left Montreal. These 
Indians coming to the fort, Carrillon, asked of the comman- 
der some provisions, and said they wished to rest a few 
days before setting out on the march. He gave them some 
and a little brandy, and the Indians returned to their camp 
and began to drink. One of them who did not wish to join 
them began a juggling, and after some time he called the 
rest to a council, and told them that he had learned by this 
means that the English had sent a party, who had come to 
Carrillon, and that they could not be far distant. He then 
exhorted his comrades to set out on the next day, which they 
in fact did. The commandant was agreeably surprised at 
this prompt resolution of relieving him and granted all they 
asked. Several oflScers and soldiers of the garrison wished 
to join the expedition. They proceeded along the lake 
shore, and at three leagues beyond their scouts noticed the 
tracks of men in considerable numbers on the ice, and re- 
ported this fact. It was determined at once to retire into 
the woods near which the English would pass. Our scouts 
seeing the English troops descending a little hill ran to 
notify their people that they were approaching. They ar- 
rived at a little elevation by the time the English were at the 
bottom of the hill, and they at once attacked them, killing 
one hundred and forty-six on the spot. They did not save 
more than the fifth part of the two hundred that they had. 
Robert Rogers, who commanded them, left his clothes, his 
commission, and his instructions to enable him the better 
to flee. Eleven officers or volunteers had joined this detach- 
ment, of whom four belonged to regiments that had lately 
arrived from England. Five were taken prisoners to 
Carrillon, and others were lost in the woods, where they 



In the French and Indian War. 21 

perished with hunger. This was the most vigorous action 
of the Indians." 

General Montcalm, in a letter dated April 10, says that 
the Indians brought back one hundred and forty-six scalps 
and would give no quarter. But he does not state definitely 
the losses. 

Little is known of the men who perished. Charles Mc- 
Coy was probably a brother of William McCoy, who came to 
Peterborough in 1752 or 1753, and who settled east of the 
Street road on the southern border of the town. John Stuart 
was the son of William Stuart who first settled on lots two 
and sixty-five. The son was born in 1737. David Wallace 
was the son of William Wallis, born in Lunenburg, March 
26, 1737. Was not of the family of Matthew Wallis and no 
relation so far as known. (See N. E. Hist, and Gen. Regis- 
ter, April, 1902). Robert McNee was eldest son of Deacon 
William McNee, who first came to town in 1744 or 1745. 
Robert was born in Roxbury, Mass., in 1735. William Wil- 
son was probably of the family of Hugh Wilson, who came 
from Londonderry. And of John Dinsmore nothing is 
known. 

Thus Peterborough furnished for the conflict thirty-two 
men. In 1760 the town had about fifty families, in all per- 
haps two hundred souls. On this basis sixteen per cent, of 
the whole population served in the army — an extraordinary 
contribution — of whom thirteen, namely, Wm. Swan, Jere- 
miah Swan, James Turner, John Turner, John Hogg, John 
McCollam, David Scott, Charles McCoy, John Stuart, David 
Wallace, Wm. Wilson, Robert MeNee, and John Dinsmore — 
almost one-half of the number — perished in the service or 
contracted disease therein and died soon after reaching 
home. It is a record of sacrifice and patriotism worthy of 
the people who made it, and constitutes one of the proudest 
traditions of the town. Of the men who survived all but 
eight are known to have fought for the Colonies in the Revo- 
lution and not one took the side of the mother country. 

After all mere numbers tell but part of the story. The 



22 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

courage and daring of these men, particularly those who 
served under Major Rogers around Lake George, and the 
hardships and sufferings they incurred, are not surpassed in 
any tales of warfare, ancient or modern. Summer and 
winter, day and night, were alike to them. Under a July 
sun they went on long expeditions, journeying on lakes and 
rivers in whale boats or birch canoes, or threading their way 
through the pathless wilds of the primeval forest. Amid the 
ice and snows of a northern winter they traveled over the 
deep snows on snowshoes or upon the ice of the frosty lakes 
and streams on skates, while like Duner's knight "a cruel 
death stalked constantly at their side."' They often slept in 
the snow without blanket or fire. Frequently their only 
rations were such wild game as they could kill on the march. 
When heavy French and Indian forces \aj about Ticou- 
deroga and Crown Point, and the woods around 
swarmed with savage foes, they reconnoitered up to the 
outposts of the enemy, slew, or captured and carried 
off prisoners from under the very walls of the forts. 
Gliding under the walls of the fortresses on foot or in 
boats, so near that they could hear the sentries on 
the ramparts pass along the watchword, they obtained accu- 
rate information of the enemy's forces, the number of their 
troops and forest allies, their munition of war, their secret 
plans of campaign, and knew intimately every trail and 
secret path through the dark and bloody ground over which 
the contending forces struggled and fought. To be disabled 
by wounds or cut off from the main body meant capture and 
pretty certainly a most cruel death. They hardly went out 
on a reconnoissance when they were not ambushed by In- 
dians at some stage of the expedition, and they well knew 
that behind any rock, thicket, or tree might lurk an Indian 
savage bent on murder. But nothing daunted them. The 
loss of a third or half their number in an ambuscade did not 
for a moment deter the survivors from starting upon 
another raid on the day following their return, and while 
health and strength held out, shrank from no peril or hard- 



In the French and Indian War. 23 

ship which they were called to undergo. It is a matter of 
deep regret that we know so litle of the personality of these 
men, who gave such a noble illustration of the character and 
virtues of the race to which they belonged. 

It will be seen that a large number of them enlisted 
under the famous ranger, Robert Rogers. This may be ex- 
plained, in part, from the fact that Rogers was a Scotch 
Irishman, as were so many of the earl}'^ settlers of Peter- 
borough, and as were, also, the two next highest officers of 
the first company he organized (in February, 1756), namely, 
Richard Rogers, his brother, first lieutenant, and John 
Stark, second lieutenant. The peculiarly dangerous charac- 
ter of the service Rogers was called to perform, and the 
daring and endurance required for it had special attractions 
for the young men of the infant settlement, and explains, in 
part, why so many of them sought enlistment under him. 

Major Rogers himself has been described as "an am- 
bitious and violent man, yet able in more ways than one, by 
no means uneducated, skilled in woodcraft, and energetic 
and resolute." A history of his actions in this war bear 
out this description. He understood thoroughly the Indian 
character, and was a past master in all the arts and strata- 
gems of savage warfare. His men, if we may judge from 
what they did, were kindred spirits, and never hesitated to 
go wherever he dared to lead, and that they did their full 
duty at all times and in all places Rogers himself has borne 
ample testimony. The war in which they took such honor- 
able part, was, in the issues at stake, and in its cruel and 
bloody character, the hardest fought and the most impor- 
tant ever waged on this continent prior to 1861. The Eng- 
lish triumph saved America from the blight of a French 
civilization; the birth of the United States was soon to fol- 
low, and the institutions of a great, free and intelligent 
democracy became, in a few years, the law and civilization 
of the new world. 



CHAPTER II. 



BEGINNINGS OF THE STRUGGLE. 



From the close of the French and Indian war in 1763 on 
to 1775 the town had a steady, healthy growth in population 
and prosperity. The first census was taken in 1767, with 
the following result:* 



Unmarried men between 16 and 60, 


33 


Married men between 16 and 60, 


64 


Boys under 16, 


113 


Men, 60 years of age and over, 


13 


Females, unmarried, 


149 


Females, married, 


68 


Slaves, 


1 


Widows, 


2 



Total, 443 

In 1768 it had ratable estates to the value of £3715, and 
100 polls.** The proportion to £1000 was £8, 17s. 

Under an order by Governor Wentworth issued October 
15, 1773,^ another enumeration was made, showing: 



Unmarried men between 16 and 60, 

Married men between 16 and 60, 

Boys, 16 and under, 

Men, 60 years of age and over. 

Females, unmarried. 

Females, married. 

Widows, 

Slaves, 



44 
66 

131 
12 

172 
72 
11 



Total, 



» State papers, Vol. vn, p. 170. 
** " " " " p. 166. 



514 

1 State papers, Vol. x, p. 631. 



Beginnings of the Struggle. 25 

The town under this census had 88 polls and 150 ratable 
estates.f The proportion was £7, 5s. 

In 1775 the Fourth Provincial Congress ordered a third 
census, which was to include the number of firearms in each 
town fit for use, and the number wanting to complete one 
for every person capable of using them, with the quantity 
of powder in each place; and where there was a public 
stock, a separate account thereof. From this census it ap- 
peared that there were then : J 

Males under 16 years of age, 139 

Males above 16 years of age to 50, not in army, 77 

All males over 50 years, 23 

Persons gone to the army, 25 

All females, 277 

Negroes and slaves for life, 8 



Total, 549 

Firearms, 23. No return was made of the public stock 
of powder. This was an increase in population in twelve 
years of twenty-four per cent., a larger per cent, than that 
of the United States between 1900 and 1910. 

The population of some of the neighboring towns by the 
same census will show their relative military strength in 
comparison with Peterborough.* 



New Ipswich, 


960 


Rindge, 


542 


Londonderry, 


2590 


Dublin, 


305 


Lyndeborough, 


713 


Temple, 


491 


Sharon, 


147 


Jaffrey, 


351 



This increase, be it observed, was among a farming and 
artisan population, for the people were employed exclusively 
in agriculture and the mechanical trades, and aside from 
two or three saw and grist mills there was no manufac- 
turing of any kind. 

t State papers, Vol. vn, p. 327. * State papers, Vol. vn, p. 780. 

t " " •• " p. 762. 



26 Peterhorough in the Revolution. 

But the conveniences and comforts of life had increased 
in a greater ratio than the population. Most of the primi- 
tive log cabins had been replaced by frame dwellings, and 
the house furnishings were of better quality and quantity. 
There w^ere more cattle, and the farms had more cleared and 
arable land. At least one store was open. It was owned 
by Captain (Major) William Scott, and was at the Carter 
Corner, in a building situated on the northeast corner of 
the three roads which there meet. The building was after- 
wards removed. There was one church, one tavern, kept by 
Robert Wilson, and one physician, Dr. John Young, but no 
lawyer. The only man in town who appears to have held a 
commission under the royal government was Hugh Wilson, 
who had served a number of years as Justice of the Peace. 

Presbyterian in faith, the settlers w^ere devout believers 
in the democratic principles of that powerful sect which, 
under the leadership of John Knox and Andrew Melville 
and their successors, had raised up so much trouble for 
Mary Stuart, and later for James I and Charles I. They 
were a contented and peace-loving folk, not of those who 
were eager to excite war, but they had an inherited taste 
and aptitude for military life. Many of them had come to 
this country in the migration of 1736, while the rest were 
children of the Londonderry immigrants of 1719. Probably 
nineteen out of every twenty were of that race which has 
ever been dangerous material for royal despotism to handle 
— the Scotch-Irish. They had its defects, but they had all 
its virtues, — industry, independence of character, unflinching 
courage, and devoted loyalty to those great principles of 
civil and religious liberty which they had come here to en- 
joy. How well they sustained the character of their race in 
the long war of the Revolution these pages will show. 

There was one military company in the town in 1775, 
comnumded probably by Robert Wilson. No rolls of this 
organization are knoAvn to exist, but it was composed sub- 
stantially of the men who made up the company of Alexan- 
der Robbe, as the latter existed in January, 1776. A list 



Beginnings of the Struggle. 



27 



of Capt. Robbe's company fortunately is preserved. It is 
dated January 13, 1776, and is a complete roll of the entire 
military population of Peterborough on that date. It is as 
follows:! , ;'. "jJV 

^'Province of New Hampshire and County of Hillsborough. 

By order of Congress, Peterborough, Jan. 13, 1776. 

A list of tranable Solders, under the command of Capton 

Alexander Robbe together with the Prasent Sargents: 



Ser. William McNee* 
Ser. Robert Gray* 
Samuel Hogg* 
John Smith* 
Thomas Stewert 
William Blaire* 
Samuel Huston* 
Hugh Gragg* 
James Taggert* 
Aron Brown 
David Ames* 
John White the 3d 
William Scoot, juner* 
Charles Cowal* 
James Tampleton 
Thomas Steel* 
Kalsy Gray* 
John Miller* 
Samuel Willison 
John Gragg, juner* 
Jacob Gragg* 
Samuel Moore, juner* 
Benjemin Mitchel* 
William White* 
William Robbe* 
Thomas Morison* 
Thomas Smith* 
Joseph Miller* 
William Swan* 
William White * 



Ser. Samuel Miller* 
Ser. Robert Morrison* 
Samuel Miller 
Moses Cunningham 
John White, juner* 
Isaac Mitchel* 
Samuel Gragg* 
Adames Gragg* 
Elijah Puffer 
Isaac Huston* 
Charels Stewart* 
Robert Smith* 
Rodolphus Green 
Rendel McCallester* 
Matthew Tampleton 
David Steel, juner 
William Miller 
Joseph Hambel 
James Willison* 
Abraham Holems 
William Moore, juner* 
John Mitchel* 
Charls White* 
Davied White* 
John Morison* 
James Richy* 
James Smith* 
Alexander Stewert* 
Jeremiah Smith* 
Timothev Mixer* 



» All those thus (*) marked served in the army during some portion of the war. 
t The original is in the Library of the Historical Society of Peterborough. 



28 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

Robert Gragg Thomas Davidson, juner* 

Robert Smith, juner Samuel Morison* 

Samuel McClurge Joseph Babe* 

James Hakly* Nethaneal Holmes* 

William McKeen* Davied Allet 

Richeson Emory* Ephream Stephens* 

Michal Woodcock* Joseph Littil* 

Simson Hogg* Mathew Gray 

Jonathan Steel Charles McCoy* 

Samuel Robbe* Charles Davison* 

John More* Robert Swan* 

John Keuaday* David Goage 

Eighty-five officers and men. 

The Alarm List — Capton Hugh Willson, Capton Thomas 
Morison, Capton William Smith, Capton John Butler*, Lut. 
John Gragge*, Lut. William Robbe*, Lut. Samuel Gragg. 

Sargents in the Provience Serves — John White*, Wil- 
liam Scoot*, William Speer. 

Sargents in the Miliaty — Davied Steel, Thomas Davis- 
son*, James Robbe*, John Willson, Thomas Cunningham, 
Samuel Miller, John Scott*, John Blear*. 

Neil Hamble Hugh Gragg* 

Samuel Moore* Samuel Mitchel* 

Doc't John Young* John Smith* 

Thomas Turner William McNee, Sener 

John Taggert* Isiah Tyler* 

William McKay Thomas Littil* 
Whillock (Jonathan Wheelock)*." 

The militia was composed of all men between 16 and 50 
years of age, but there were many exemptions from profes- 
sional and official classes. The Alarm List embraced all 
between 16 and 65 not included in the regular militia. The 
latter were mustered for drill eight times a year. The 
Alarm List assembled twice a year and could choose their 
own officers. 

While it is probable that there was not a newspaper 
taken in town in 1775 the people were fully informed of 
current events. They had commercial intercourse with citi- 
zens of the larger towns in New Hampshire and Massachu- 

* All those thus (*) marked served in the army during some portion of the war. 



Beginnings of the Struggle. 29 

setts, and through business channels, as well as from pass- 
ing travellers, learned what was going on, and were kept 
alive to the situation. 

In this most important work of publicity the Committees 
of Correspondence were the leading factors. These were 
organizations first formed in Boston in 1772 at the sugges- 
tion of Samuel Adams. The plan worked so well that before 
long it was adopted by the towns of Massachusetts, and 
then by the other colonies. There was constant communi- 
cation between these committees, so that each one was kept 
fully informed of what was doing in the way of legislation 
in all the other colonies. In May, 1773, the Assembly of 
New Hampshire elected a Committee of Correspondence of 
seven members, which immediately entered upon its work. 

The committees also wrote letters to town officials urg- 
ing the formation of similar local agencies, but there was 
no such body chosen in Peterborough until two years later. 
It was the aim of these local councils to spread through the 
towns the information they had acquired concerning the 
progress of events, to stimulate a spirit of union among the 
people, and to encourage resistance to the aggressions of the 
mother country. 

The Tories were quick to recognize what they were 
doing, and the great influence they exerted in controlling 
and directing public sentiment. Language was not strong 
enough for them to express Tory hate and detestation of 
their work. Daniel Leonard, the great Tory pamphleteer, 
two years after they had organized, accused them of being 
the source of the rebellion, and denounced them as the 
foulest, subtlest and most venomous enemy that ever issued 
from the egg of sedition. "I saw the small seed when it 
was planted. It was a grain of mustard; I have watched 
the plant until it has become a great tree. The vilest reptiles 
that crawl upon the earth are concealed at the root; the 
foulest birds of the air rest upon the branches."* 

* See John Fiske's Amer. Rev., Vol. i, pp. 79-80. 



30 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

Nor was the Legislature of New Hampshire behind any 
other in its expression of loyalty to the Colonial Cause. 
In its reply to the resolutions of Massachusetts, it said, 
February 7, 1774 : ''You may therefore Depend on the ready 
Concurrence of this House with the Measures tho't neces- 
sary to be pursued by the other Colonies in the Cause of 
Liberty."! 

In May, 1774, the Legislature chose another Committee 
of Correspondence. The royal governor, John Wentworth, 
at once dissolved the Assembly, hoping b}' this action to 
dissolve also the Committee, but in this he wholly failed. 
The Assembly immediately issued summonses to their mem- 
bers to meet again in their own chamber. The Governor 
sent the Sheriff of Rockingham County to command them 
to disperse and keep the King's peace. The Legislature 
declined to obey and adjourned to another building, where 
they voted to send letters to all the towns and parishes re- 
questing them to elect deputies to hold a convention at 
Exeter to choose delegates to the General Congress which 
was to meet at Philadelphia.^ The body thus called was 
the jBrst Provincial Congress of New Hampshire. It was 
this Congress which elected John Sullivan and Nathaniel 
Folsom delegates to the Continental Congress of 1774. It 
also appointed a day of fasting and prayer, which was gen- 
erally observed throughout the Colony. It solemnly "Re- 
solved that the deputies recommend it to their respective 
Towns to take into Consideration the distressed, unhappy 
Condition of the Town of Boston, and liberally to contribute 
towards the Relief of the Poor of that town, according to the 
noble and laudable Example of their Sister Colonies."* 

Through the action of this body, also, the news of the 
landing of tea at Portsmouth, the terms of the Boston Port 
Bill, the seizure of Fort William and Mary in Portsmoutli 
Harbor, the resolves of the different towns upon passing 

t State papers, vn, 355. 
t'State papers, vn, p. 399. 
* State papers, vn, p. 408. 



Beginnings of the Struggle. 31 

events, the acts of "The Non-Importation Association," the 
memorial to the inhabitants of the colonies and the address 
of the colonies to the King, the last three being adopted 
unanimously, first by the Continental Congress and then by 
the State Provincial body, were scattered broadcast among 
the people through circulars, and read also from the pulpits 
of the churches. 

The second Provincial Congress met at Exeter, Jan. 25, 
1775, but how and by whom called is not clear from existing 
records. It appointed a committee with discretionary 
power to call future Congresses, and adopted an address to 
the people of the State which is a paper of extreme impor- 
tance, for it not only voices the opinions of the j)eople upon 
the great question of the day, but also expresses the sacri- 
fices they were ready and willing to make for their Cause. 
It is given entire, and will be read by those desiring to know 
the state of public opinion at the time : 

"To the Inhabitants of the Province of Neiv Hampshire: 

"Bretpiren : 

"When we consider the unhappy condition to which 
you and your American brethren are reduced; when we re- 
flect that for nearly ten months past you have been deprived 
of any share in your own government, and of those advan- 
tages which flow to society from Legislative Assemblies; 
when we view the lowering clouds, charged with ministerial 
vengeance, fast spreading over this extensive Continent, 
ready to burst on the heads of its inhabitants, and to involve 
the whole British Empire in one common ruin, at this 
alarming juncture, duty to Almighty God, to our Country, 
ourselves, and posterity, loudly demands our most strenuous 
exertions to avoid the impending danger. 

"Such are the measures adopted by the British ^linistry 
for enslaving you, and with such incessant vigilance has 
their plan been prosecuted, that Tyranny already begins to 
wave its banners in your borders, and to threaten these once 
happy regions with infamous and detestable slavery. 

"Shall we, knowing the value of freedom, and nursed in 
the arms of Liberty, make a base and ignominious surrender 
of our rights, thereby consigning succeeding generations to 



32 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

a condition of wretchedness, from whicli, perhaps, all human 
efforts will be insuflficient to extricate them? 

''Duty to ourselves, and regard for our country, should 
induce us to defend our liberties, and to transmit the fair 
inheritance unimpaired to posterity. Should our restless 
enemies drives us to arms in defense of everything we hold 
dear, we should be reduced to a state, dreadful even in con- 
templation; for, should we prove victorious, the blood of our 
brethren shed in an unhappy contest, would cause the laurels 
to wither on our brows, and make the Conquerors mourn 
with tlie vampiished. But should our enemies be successful 
they will thereby rivet the chains of slavery upon us and 
our posterit3\ 

''Thus surrounded with dangers and distresses on every 
side, it behooves us to adopt and pursue such peaceable 
measures, as, under God, will be most likely to prevent those 
dreadful calamities with which we are threatened. Fully 
sensible that to point out, with any degree of certainty, the 
methods by whicli you may shun the threatening evils, would 
require more than human wisdom, we can only recommend 
such measures as appear to us most likely to answer that 
desirable end, and best calculated to restore to you that 
peace and harmony so ardently wished for by ever}- good and 
honest American. We therefore, earnestly recommend : 

"First That you discountenance and discourage all tres- 
passes and injuries against individuals and their property, 
and all disorders of every kind; and that you cultivate and 
maintain peace and harmony among yourselves. 

"Second, That you yield due obedience to the Magis- 
trates within this Government, and carefully endeavor to 
support the laws thereof. 

"Third, That you strictly adhere to the Association of the 
late Continental Congress and deal with the violators of it 
in the manner therein recommended. 

"Fourth. That you endeavor ])articu1arly to enforce tlie 
laws of the Province again Hawkers. T'eddlers and Petty- 
Chapmen. 

"Fifth, That you abstain from the use of East India Tea 
whenever or by whatever means it has or may be imported. 

"Sixth, That you encourage and support your several 
Committees of Correspondence and Inspection, in discharg- 
ing the very important trust you have reposed in them. 

"Seventh, That in case any inhabitant of these Colonies 
should be seized, in order to be transported to Great Britain, 



Beginnings of the Struggle. 33 

or other parts beyond the Seas, to be tried for offences sup- 
posed to be committed in America, you conduct yourself 
agreeable to the advice of the late Continental Congress. 

"Eighth, That in your several stations you promote and 
encourage the manufactures of this country, and endeavor, 
both by precept and example, to induce all under you, and 
with whom you are connected, to practice economy and in- 
dustry, and to shun all kinds of extravagance. 

"Xinth, That the Officers of the several Kegiments 
strictly comply with the laws of this Province for regulating 
the Militia; and as the Militia upon this Continent, if prop- 
erly discplined, would be able to do great service in its de- 
fence, should it ever be invaded by his Majesty's enemies, 
that you acquaint yourselves with the manual exercise, 
particularly that recommended and enjoined by the Captain 
General, the motions being natural, easy, and best calculated 
to qualify persons for real action ; and also to improve them- 
selves in those evolutions which are necessary for infantry 
in time of engagement. 

"Tenth, That as your enemies are using every art to 
impoverish and distress you. in order to induce submission 
to their arbitrary mandates, you carefully shun those 
measures which may have a tendency to distress your breth- 
ren and fellow-sufferers, and avoid all unnecessary law- 
suits, and endeavor to settle all disputes between you in the 
most amiable and least expensive manner. That all debtors 
exert them.selves in discharging their just debts, and all 
creditors exerrise such lenity as their circumstances will 
admit of. 

''Eleventh. That as the inhabitants of the town of Boston, 
in the Province of the Massachusetts Bay, are now laboring 
under a load of Ministerial vengeance, laid upon them to 
enforce obedience to certain arbitrary and unconstitutional 
acts, which if onr-e submitted to. must involve all America 
in slavery and ruin : conscious that all these Colonies are 
largely indebted to the virtue and fortitude of those patri- 
otick assertors of freedom, we heartily recommend a con- 
tinuation of your contributions, for the relief of that op- 
pressed people, and that you keep yourselves in r-onstant 
readiness to support them in their just opposition, whenever 
necessity may require. 

"Lastly. We earnestly entreat you, at this time of tribu- 
lation and distress, when your enemies are urging you to 
despair, when every scene around is full of gloom and 

4 



34 I'ctcrhorotKjIi in (he Ji'dolidion. 

horror, llial in iniilalion of your ploii.s forelatherH, wilh 
contrition of spiril and jK'nitence of heart, von inii)lore the 
Divino lioin*;, who ahnic is ahh' to (h'livcr yon frcnn yonr 
present nnliai)py and distressinji; sitnation, to esponse yonr 
rijjliteons cause, secure yonr libeities, and tix tlieni on n firm 
and histinj; basis; and we fervently beseech him to restore 
to you, and your American brethren, that peace and tran- 
quility so ardently desired, and earnestly sought for, by 
every true friend of liberty, and mankind. "t 
By order of the ('onvention, 

J. WENTWORTII, President.* 

While not counselling open and armed resistance, this 
circular was in effect a signal to the people to ''clear the 
deck for action," and helped to prepare their minds for 
independence. 

A third Provincial Congress met at I^^xeter, April 21, 
1775, and continued in session two weeks. Like its prede- 
cessors it was exclusively occupied with measures dealing 
with the questions at issue between the Colonies and the 
Crown. The members were sworn to secrecy as to its acts 
and debates. It chose Nathaniel Folsom commander of all 
the troops of the State, and provided for the collection of 
military stores. The towns were recommended "to Engage 
as many men as they think fit to be properly Equipt ready to 
ready to march at a minute's warning on any Emergency."J 

There is no evidence that Peterborough had been repre- 
sented heretofore in any legislative body of the Colony, 
either under the Royal Governors, or otherwise. But to 
this (third) Congress the town sent Samuel Cunningham as 
a delegate. He took his seat April 25th, Whether he re- 
mained until its final adjournment does not appear. 

The Fourth Provincial Congress assembled May 1 7, 177."), 
and sat at intervals until November loth following, when 
the time for w'hich it had been elected expired. It was the 
most important of all the Provincial Congresses, and enacted 

+ VII, p. 443. 

* A relation of Governor Wentworth and a staunch patriot. See vu, p. 453. 

t State papers, vn, 463. 



#^agg iiwgii^ 




36 rdcrborutiyli in the Revolution. 

legislative powers were divided between a rouueil consist iug 
of twelve members and an Assembly. The Congress ap- 
parently resolved itself into the Assembly so constitnted. 
The Execntive consisted of the Council or a committee 
thereof, which constituted the Committee of Safety before 
mentioned. The Colony was governed by these bodies thus 
constitued throughout the war. 

Besides these Provincial Congresses, there were conven- 
tions held by some of the counties early in the year 1775. 
The one in Hillsborough County had its inception in the 
town of Amherst, which, at a meeting held October 24, 1774, 
passed the following resolution : 

''That Paul D. Sergeut, Mr. Benja Kinrick, Daniel 
Campble, be Delegates & do hereby direct and Instruct them 
to use their Endeavours to Secure and ^laintain Peace & 
good Order in this Town & to use their utmost Efforts to 
defuse peace and good order through this County, and excite 
in the minds of Peoi)le a due Respect to all just measures 
that may be recommended by the present Grand Congress at 
Philadelphia, and said Delegates are hereby instructed to 
take Copys of this vote from the Clerk and send to all the 
Towns in this County that they shall think necessary to con- 
stitute a County Congress; so that the good ends aforesaid 
may be answered. Grievances heard, and Remonstrate to 
such Authority whose Province is it to grant Redress."* 

This convention met at Amherst, April 5, and was in 
session two days. Aaron Brown was sent as a delegate from 
Peterborough. Twenty-six members representing fourteen 
towns were present. The Convention recommended the for- 
mation of military companies in all the towns, the choice of 
officers for the same, and the perfection of the men in mili- 
tary drill. It also asked the people to refrain from routs, 
riots or licentious attacks on persons and property; re- 
quested Massachusetts creditors not to press their New 
Hampshire debtors; asked for two Superior Courts in the 
County, and petitioned the lawyers that so far as possible 
they discourage litigation. Finally it appointed a com- 

* State papers, Vol. vn, p. 447. 



Beginnings of the Struggle. 37 

mittee to call a future County Congress and then ad- 
journed.f 

A second County Convention was held soon after, but no 
record of its proceedings has been found. A third met May 
24th. J This Convention voted to agree to and acquiesce in 
the resolves of the Continental Congress, and "to see if sd 
towns in ye County have chosen a Committee of Safty to see 
if the several Towns strikly adhere to the late Resolves of 
the Continental Congress." It subsequently ajjjjeared that 
all but two had done so. Peterborough was not represented. 
The following were the town's first Committee of Safety, 
chosen in 1775 : 

Aaron Brown Henry Ferguson 

Kelso Gray Alexander Robbe 

William McNee 

The causes which led to the different Provincial 
Congresses, their inception, their subsequent meetings and 
the measures they passed, are found in the manner in which 
the Royal Governor, John Wentworth, dealt with the Co- 
lonial Legislature in 1774 and 1775. Wentworth was broad- 
minded and humane, and had the good of the people at 
heart. In the first years of his administration he was 
popular, and his conduct, even after the controversy arose, 
was free from many of the arbitrary and despotic acts which 
marked the course of some of the other Royal Governors. 
But he was thoroughly loyal to his King, and used every 
means in his power to stem the rising tide of discontent in 
so far as it was attempted to embody that discontent in 
legislative manifestoes and laws. 

After the beginning of 1774 the attention of the Assembly 
was increasingly turned to questions relating to the issues 
between the people and the Mother Country. February 
12th the Governor prorogued the Legislature until the 10th 
of ^larch, and just before that day dissolved it. Its ses- 

t State papers, Vol. vn, p. 448. 
X State papers, Vol. vn, p. 449. 



38 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

sions from that date were brief, and as events thickened and 
the political skies grew darker, the breach between the 
people and the Executive grew steadily wider. The people 
petitioned for redress of their grievances, but were met by 
remonstrance and reproof. On the 8th of May the Governor 
again dissolved the Assembly, "because," as he said, ^'I look 
upon the measures entered upon by the House of Assembly 
to be inconsistent with his Majesty's service & the good of 
this Government, it is my Duty as far as in me lies to pre- 
vent any Detriment that might arise from such Pro- 
ceedings."* 

This dissolution of May 8th was in consequence of the 
election of a second Committee of Correspondence. The 
result has already been described and it was followed by 
calling the First Provincial Congress. The Legislature did 
not meet again till May 4, 1775. It was in session but two 
days and the Governor then adjourned it to June 12th, when 
after a two days' session he again adjourned it for a month. 
Meanwhile the' Governor had fled to Fort William and 
Mary, from which he issued his last proclamation adjourn- 
ing the Assembly till the next September. It never met 
again. For a year the members had insisted upon turning 
their first attention to political questions and the Governor 
had sought to defeat their purpose hy proroguing or dis- 
solving their meeting. Thus it was that the power and in- 
fluence of the Provincial Congresses were built up. 

While the people of Peterborough were kept fully 
informed of all these exciting events, and complied with 
the recommendations of the different legislative bodies in 
preparation for what was to follow, very little of their 
action in the premises is found on the records of the town. 
The first entry relating, even indirectly, to the Revolution 
was Mardi 4, 1775, when there was an article in the warrant 
to see: 

"If the Town will agree to the mesures proposed by the 

* State papers, Vol. vii, p. 369. 



Beginnings of the RLruggle. 39 

continental congress in chusing committees to corro- 
spond," and ''what other Shall they thought necessary for 
the soport of our Liberteys and vote the same." Town 
Record, Vol. 1, page 50. 

At the same meeting it was voted, "That the Town provid 
a Stock of Ammunition." 

"Voted that Saml Mitchell, Willm McNee, Jun, and 
Aaron Brown be a Committee to portick (protect) Sd Store. 
Same, page 51. 

There is no further recorded action relating to the war 
until the 12th of the next December, when the voters of 
Peterborough and Temple met and chose Samuel Moore as 
representative to the Fifth Provincial Congress. 

On the 2d of January, 1776, the people having chosen 
their representative to the Assembly, desired to instruct 
him as to their views on public questions and define 
his line of conduct as their representative. It was a general 
practice for towns, in those days, so to do. The following 
letter was sent to the town of Temple : 

Peterboro^ Jan. 4th, 1776. 
To the Selectmen of Temple, 

Gents. — ■ 

The annual meeting of the inhabitants of this Town 
was held on the 2nd inst & as the principal persons of said 
Town were then assembled, it was proposed that a com- 
mittee should be chosen to correspond with the Inhabitants 
of the Town of Temple, to see if they will chose a committee 
to join with them in consulting whether it will be necessary 
to advise with Mr. Sam^ Moore (who was lately chosen to 
represent the inhabitants in Congress or House of Represen- 
tatives for this Colony the ensuing year), and instruct said 
Moore by said Comm^^ what they should think most bene- 
ficial for the welfare of said Inhabitants & recommend the 
same to the due notice of s*^ Moore. 

The critical situation of the affairs of this Colony, we 
presume, demands the exertion of every faculty, so we doubt 
not but you will be ready to promote the good of the com- 
munity. You will please to let us know your minds on the 
subject, and if you should proceed to choose a com. for the 



40 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

purpose aforesaid, we, the subscribers, being chosen as Com- 
mittee for this town, will most readily meet with you at 
any Convenient place after due notice. We are with cordial 
affection, Gentl"" 

Your Most Humbel Serv'ts. 

Sami Mitchell, 
David Steel, 
Jotham Blanchard. 

History of Temple, page 104. 

There is nothing of this action on the town records, nor 
does it anywhere appear whether this invitation was ac- 
cepted. 

It is known that when the war came Peterborough was 
as well prepared and acted as etticiently and as har- 
moniously as any other town of its population in the State. 
It is to be deeply regretted that so few of its deliberations 
were preserved, for it is impossible, from their subsequent 
record in the war, to think that the sturdy, liberty-loving 
settlers of l*eterborough were not fully alive to what was 
going on, and did not do their full part in preparing for the 
conflict which was now upon them. 

The First Provincial Congress was, like its four succes- 
sors, a Revolutionary body, and marked the beginning of 
that course of events in New Hampshire which at last ended 
in complete independence. 

The call for the First Congress was issued by the Assem- 
bly after it had been legally dissolved by the Royal Gover- 
nor, and when the members were acting simply as individual 
citizens. As a legislative body it was without authority 
either in law or chartered rights, and its meeting was in 
defiance of the Executive will. Its acts had no more 
binding force upon the people than those of any other body 
of citizens proceeding without statute authority — but 
were in fact and reality simply requests or suggestions of 
the persons making them for the voluntary guidance of the 
people of the State. 

The calling of the Provincial Congresses, and their 



Beginnings of the Struggle. 41 

action, were the supreme acts of a people in the assertion 
of their inalienable rights. The royal government had 
ceased to represent their opinions and desires. It had 
solemnly refused to redress grievances, or listen to their de- 
mands for necessary legislation, and was striving in every 
way to impose upon the people acts and laws which would 
deprive them of their cherished privileges, and make them 
serfs to a power 3000 miles away. The repeated disso- 
lutions of the Assembly, and the refusal of the Royal 
Governor to permit the Representatives of the people to 
consider any measures involving the arbitrary acts of King 
and Parliament, made no other course possible if the people 
were to keep and enjoy the rights under which they had lived 
and which had been guaranteed them under their charter. 
True, it was Revolution, but it was the last as well as the 
indisputable right of the people of the State to dissolve the 
political ties which bound them to Great Britain, when that 
Government had defeated the very purposes for which all 
governments are instituted among men. 

The readiness with which the people obeyed and executed 
the enactments of the Provincial Legislatures and the Com- 
mittees of Safety, their cheerful compliance with sugges- 
tions of these two different bodies, and their earnest support 
of the general policy of the State and Colonial authorities 
are the justification of what these bodies did. By the action 
of Governor Wentworth and the people the old laws had in 
effect been abrogated and society virtually resolved into its 
original elements. But there was no confusion, no disorder, 
nor outbreak of crime and lawlessness, in the State. The 
people pursued their usual avocations as if nothing had 
happened, and quietly went to work and established a new 
government fundamentally different from the old. No 
finer instance of self-control on the part of a people, nor 
better illustration of the beneficence of the democratic 
principle of government when employed by an intelligent 
population, can be found upon the pages of ancient or 
modern history. 



42 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

Whatever criticisms may be applied to the Continental 
Congress in its conduct of military affairs during the war, 
in one particular its policy was wise and far-seeing. 

From the first inception of the struggle to the end it did 
not follow but created and led public opinion. Its enact- 
ments afifecting the Colonies, as a whole, were appropriate 
to the emergency existing at the time of their passage. Its 
recommendations to the States were the basis of most of 
their laws and resolutions. The members were in constant 
communication with the different legislatures, emphasizing 
and urging upon the Colonial authorities prompt execution 
and enforcement of the Continental decrees. Its statements 
of grievances before the Declaration of Independence, and 
of the questions involved in the contest afterward — what 
they meant to the people, and what the consequences of 
failure would be — were able and profound. Its reports, its 
manifestoes and circulars were given the widest possible 
circulation among the people of the several colonies, and 
this campaign of publicity, continued throughout the war, 
kept sympathizers with their Cause united, stimulated zeal, 
and braced a sometimes flagging courage. While the people 
looked to their Colonial Assemblies for advice and direction, 
the Continental Congress was the source of colonial legis- 
lative action, and colonial laws were largely the reflection 
of the general body's will, reinforced by such additional 
legislation as local conditions required; and if the Colonies 
failed sometimes to follow all recommendations of the 
Continental Congress it was from no spirit of hostility or 
opposition. It was a great work to unite the people against 
the pretensions of the Crown, and keep their courage to the 
fighting point through eight years of exhausting war. But 
this the Continental Congress did, and for that achievement 
it deserves the lasting admiration of the American people. 



CHAPTER III. 

I 

IN PROSECUTION OF THE WAR. 

The History of Peterborough during the Revolutionary 
period has to be told largely by indirection. The news- 
papers of the day, and there were none printed nearer than 
Portsmouth, throw no light upon local current events. Not 
a private diary kept by any citizen during the war has been 
preserved. The town records for the years 1774-83 are more 
remarkable for what they omit than for what they tran- 
scribe. Aside from this single volume of records, not a 
paper or document except some four or five printed in the 
State Papers (which are herein inserted in their proper 
place) relating either to what the voters debated or did con- 
cerning the war or its prosecution can now be found. 

If one may judge from the records of other towns during 
the period from 1774 to 1779, there must have been many 
town meetings and a large amount of business transacted 
relating to the war. The town was in frequent receipt of 
communications from the Committee of Safety, and from 
the Provincial Congresses and State Assembly which de- 
manded public attention by the voters. All fresh calls 
for men, so frequent in 1776, 1777 and 1778, required action 
by the voters, for the town's quota had to be filled. The 
stress of the war required large sums of money, calling for 
heavier taxation or leave to borrow funds. It is probable 
that the town offered bounties to the men enlisting in 1777, 
as was done by other neighboring towns. The soldiers' 
families had to be cared for. After 1778 many recruits 
were hired from other places and their pay, or the amount 
of their bounties, was fixed through official action. Under the 



44 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

stress of war the welfare of the Militia Company had to be 
carefully guarded and the required supply of ammunition 
maintained. It was the custom of the period for the people 
to instruct their representative in the Provincial Congresses 
and State Assemblies, relating to the measure and policies 
they desired him to sujiport or oppose. The men going to 
Cambridge, had to be paid lor their time and expense. 
Soldiers made frequent claims for loss of property while in 
service; and yet on all these and many other questions re- 
lating to the war there is nothing on record and no paper or 
report in existence to show either the opinions of the people 
or their action in regard to them. After 1780, besides the 
vexed questions of settlement with the soldiers, the records 
show that the subject of filling the quotas of men called for, 
and the ways and means of doing so, were subject of frequent 
consideration. But before that date there is nothing. 

There are but two meetings on record in 177G, one in 
1777 — the annual meeting, — and two in 1778. At none of 
these was there anything recorded relating to the war save 
the election of Committees of Safety, and yet the subject 
must have been frequently before the voters. All that 
has been preserved are a few traditions contained in local 
histories and addresses. But these are profoundly signifi- 
cant of the attitude of the citizens toward the cause, and 
the sacrifices they were willing to make in its behalf. This 
poverty of local material makes dependence on other sources 
necessary in order to understand what the people of Peter- 
borough did, and what their opinions were, during the years 
between 1774 and 1783. The general legislation of the five 
Provincial Congresses, of the Council and Assembly, the 
acts of the Committees of Safety, both State and local, the 
military' rolls, and Ihe letters, circulars and orders found 
in the N. H. State I»apers, Volumes VII to XIII, with the 
first book of Town Records, are the chief sources of this 
story of the Town in the War for Independence. 

The acts, resolves and recommendations of the Provin- 
cial Congresses, State Legislature and Committees of Safety 



In Prosecution of the War. 45 

were of general application, and are as true a reflection of 
the will of the people of Peterborough as of those of the 
State geuerall}'. The town's hearty support of the State 
authorities, and its prompt and faithful obedience to the 
orders and enactments of the legislative and executive 
powers evince the attitude of the citizens upon the issues 
of the war, and even in the absence of more direct informa- 
tion convey a correct impression of what transpired in 
Peterborough during those eventful years. 

The Army of 1775 was the result of a spontaneous up- 
rising of the people. There was no official call for men to 
go to Cambridge when the news of the battle of Lexington 
was received, and those enlisting on their arrival at the 
scene of war were volunteers. The New Hampshire regi- 
ments there recruited were not formally organized, nor the 
terms of the enlistment fixed, until some weeks after the 
men were enrolled. On the 24th of May, 1775, the N. H. 
Committee of Safety issued the following form of enlistment 
to which the men were required to subscribe : 

"We, the Subscribers, do hereby severally, solemnly, en- 
gage and enlist ourselves as Soldiers in the New Hampshire 
Service, for the Preservation of the Liberties of America, 
from the Day of our Enlistment to the last Day of December 
next, unless the Service shall admit of a Discharge of a part 
or the whole sooner, which shall be at the Discretion of the 
Committee of Safety, & we hereby promise to submit our- 
selves to all the Orders & Eegulations of the Army, & faith- 
fully to observe & obey all such orders as we shall receive 
from time to time from our officers."* 

The Massachusetts form was similar and the enlistments 
were for the same term. On the receipt of news of the battle 
of Lexington, the Provincial Congress took prompt measures 
to prepare for war. On the 26th of April it unanimously 
resolved : 

"That the Delegate or Delegates of this Convention 

*N. H. Hist. CoUections. Vol. vn, 2. 



46 Peterborough in the RGVolution. 

Recommend to his or their Respective Town, parish or place, 
he Represents, to provide their proportion of £oOO. L, M. 
worth of Biscnit, flower & pork (to be ascertained by their 
proportion of the Province Tax) and to lay up the same 
carefuly in their Respective Town parish or place, and that 
the same be not used for any other purpose but the publick 
use upon urgent necessity; and that they render an acc*^ of 
their being so provided at the Provincial Convention the 
17th of May next."* 

If the town took action under this recommendation the 
same is not recorded. 

Under the law of 1773, Peterborough's rate was £7. Ss 
per £100, making her share of this assessment £3G. 5s. As 
Samuel Cunningham was a member of the Congress passing 
this vote, and was present at the time, the town was duly 
informed. The action of the town thereon is not given. 

On the 8th of June the State Committe of Safety ordered 
the supplies here enumerated sent to the Army. Most of 
them went to the Army at Cambridge, but some were sent 
to tlie Northern troops if 
600 Barrels of Pork, 

5 tons of Lead, one ton of which is to be immediately 
cast into Balls, 
12 M. Flints, 
100 Pick- Axes, 

500 Bushels Beans and Peas, 
120 Tents, to be made of Raven's duck, 
30 doz. Stockings, 
10 cwt. Sugar, 
100 Tin Kettles, ab* & 8 Qts. 
100 Oxen, 
100 Quintals Fish, 
1000 lb. cheese, 
100 tons of Bread and Flour, 
20 Tons of Powder, 
100 Spades & Shovels, 
3000 Gallons IMolasses, 
1000 pr. shoes, 

* State papers, vol. vii, p. 463. 

t N. H. Hist. Collections, Vol. vu, 4. 



In Prosecution of the War. 47 

1500 Galls Rum, 

300 iron Pots, ab* 2 GalP, 

600 Wooden Bowls & Platers, 

200 Knapsacks, 
1000 lb. Butter. 

After November, the troops were raised in compliance 
with the requests of the generals of the Army or in obedi- 
ence to requisitions of the Continental Congress upon the 
State, except in 1777, when the Militia were several times 
called out. The first call came in December, 1775, from 
Generals Washington and Sullivan, for men to take the 
places of the Connecticut troops at Cambridge, whose terms 
were about expiring.* After this, except, as stated, when 
the military situation required. Congress issued its call to 
the Staes for a given number of men. In raising troops 
in 1776, the General Assembly, and when that was not in 
session the State Committee of Safety, divided the quota 
called for among the militia regiments, with orders to the 
commanders to apportion the required number among 
their several companies, including the alarm list.f Later, 
in 1777, under the act of July 19, if the necessary men did 
not volunteer, they were to draft them. J 

Under the statute of January 18, 1777,^ it was provided 
that when there was a call for men and a sufficient number 
did not appear, the field officers were directed to draft out 
of their respective regiments. If the soldier refused he was 
assessed a fine of £10, and if he refused to march when 
ordered he was fined £12. This appeared to be substantially 
the course pursued for the remainder of the war. Volun- 
teers were first called for, and if there were not enough the 
draft was resorted to, the number required from each town 
being apportioned to the com^jany from that town. 

Under previous acts the Hillsborough County Congress 
had, in 1775, advised the people to form military companies 

* See ante page. 



•" »ee auie page. 

t State papers, vol. vm, p. 184. 

X State papers, vol. vm, p. 639. 



48 



Peterborough in the Ixcrolution. 



and perfect themselves in military duties.** The next year, 
to secure greater efficiency, the Militia was re-organized 
into fifteen regiments. Col. Enoch Hale's regiment included 
the following towns rff 



Rindge, 

New Ispwich, 

Jaffrey, 

Temple, 

Peterborough, 

Fitzwilliam, 

Dublin, 

Stoddard, 

Washington, 

Marlborough, 

Packersfield, 

Sliptown, Sharon 



number of men between 16 and 50, 



148 

188 

88 

112 

102 

40 

64 

49 

35 

68 

47 

23 

959 



Under this act reorganizing the Militia each man was to 
provide himself with a fire arm, a good ramrod and worm, 
priming wire and brush, a bayonet fitted to his gun, a scab- 
bard and belt; a cutting sword and tomahawk or matchet, a 
pouch containing a cartridge box holding tiiteen rounds, two 
hundred buck-shot, jack-knife, tow for wadding, six flints, 
one pound powder, forty bullets, a kna]>.si!ck and canteen. 
If any were unable to furnish these e<iuii)meuts, the Select- 
men were to su])j)ly them. The regiments were to be mus- 
tered eight times a year for drill and disci])line. 

In 1775, Massachusetts established the army ration. 1( 
was the same substantially as that adopted later by New 
Hampshire. A comparison with the army ration of 18()2. in 
the Civil War, is interesting: 



** State papers, vol. vn, p. 448. 

tt Acts of the Assembly, State Archives, vol. in. p. 323. 



In Prosecution of the War. 49 

Bation in 1775, per Man."^ Ration in 1862, per Man.} 

1. 1 lb. Bread. 1. i lb. pork or IJ lbs. fresh 

2. I lb. beef and i lb- pork (if or salt beef, fresh beef to 

pork cannot be had, Ik be issued when practic- 

Ibs. of beef and 1 day in able. 

7, 14 lbs. of salt fish— in- 2. 22 oz. bread or flour, I lb. 

stead of beef- corn meal or 1 lb. of hard 

3. 1 pt milk, if milk cannot be bread. 

had, 1 gill rice. 3. 64-100 gill of beans per man, 

4. 1 qt. of good Spruce or Malt or 10 lbs. rice per 100 

beer. men, or, twice a week, 150 

5. 1 gill peas or beans or other oz. of mixed vegetables.! 

sauce equivalent. 4. 10 lb. coffee per 100 men, or 
6- 6 oz. of good butter per IJ lbs. tea. 

week. 5. 2 4-10 oz. sugar (per man). 

7. 1 lb. good common soap for 6. 32-100 gill of vinegar. 

6 men per week. 7. 1 lb. sperm candles, or IJ 

8. J pt. vinegar per week, per lbs. Alamantine Candles 

man, if it can be had. or IJ lbs. tallow candles 

9. per 100 men. 

8. 16-100 oz. salt (per man). 

9. 64-100 oz. soap. 

While rum was not in the ration in 1775, it was an 
important part of the soldiers' supplies, and large quantities 
were consumed. In May, 1777, John Langdon wrote from 
Albany to the Deputy Quartermaster General of the Navy, 
"asking to be supplied with rum and other articles for the 
army," saying that "the Batteaux men, teamsters, artificers, 
etc., constantly on duty, consume daily between fifty and 
sixty Gallons of Rum at the lowest computation," and that 
they will be "very remiss in forwarding provisions to your 
Troops in the heat of summer, if they are to drink water."^ 

In the second year of the war, Congress recommended 
the State Assemblies to furnish their troops called into 
active service with a suit of "Cloath of which the waistcoat 
and breeches may be of Deer Leather, if to be had on reason- 
able terms, a Blanket, felt hat, two shirts, two pairs of Hose, 
and two pair of shoes to be manufactured or otherwise pro- 

* state papers, vol. vu, p. 519. 

t fieans and rice issued in same rations in like proportions, and 1 lb. potatoes 
three times a week when practicable, or an equivalent in some other proper food. 

t Revised Army Regulations 1861. pp. 243 and 380. 

1 State papers, vol. vui, p. 569. 
5 



50 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

cured at reasonable rates in their respective colonies. The 
cost thereof to be deducted from the pay of the soldier re- 
ceiving them."t 

When the enlistment of the eighty-eight battalions of 
three years' men was ordered (of which New Hampshire was 
to raise three), the Assembly appointed committees to go to 
New York and Ticonderoga and recruit as many men as 
possible of the quota from the New Hampshire regiments 
there stationed whose terms were about expiring. This 
effort was not fully successful. In April, 1777, the Com- 
mittee of Safety ordered Col. Enoch Hale to furnish for 
this call 119 men out of his regiment to complete the number 
recessary to fill the quota.$ Under the law the colonels 
were required to apportion the men to the several towns in 
their Militia districts, and the captains of the companies 
were instructed to call upon the Selectmen to assist them in 
procuring the men speedily. The soldiers already serving 
in the three-year regiments of Stark, Poor and Scammel, but 
no others, were to be considered as part of the quota of the 
towns for which the men were required. Fourteen out of 
the one hundred nineteen were called for from Peterborough. 
The town claimed that twelve of the fourteen were already 
in Major Scott's company of Stark's regiment, and that 
there were ten three years' men also serving in Captain 
William Scott's company of Colonel Henry Jackson's 
(Mass.) regiment, and claimed allowance for them. This 
made them eight above the call.* How the matter was ad- 
justed does not appear, but afterward towns were given 
credit for their men serving in the regiments of other 
States. 

While as a general rule troops were raised in the way 
thus described, in a great emergency the Militia, or a part 
of it, were called out. Such a call came in 1777, under the 
stress of Burgoyne's invasion. In July of that year, the 
following order was issued to the colonels of the Militia. 

+ State papers, vol. vm, pp. 153-154. % State papers, vol. xrv, p. 575. 

* State, papers, vol. xiv, p. 577. 



In Prosecution of the War. 51 

In Committee of Safety^ July 23, ITTT.f 



To Colonel 

You are hereby required without delay to draft the one- 
half of your Kegiment, including the Alarm List, fit to bear 
arms, and see they are immediately equipt with arms and 
Ammunition as the law directs, and to be able to march at a 
minute's warning to such place within the four New England 
States as the movements of the enemy may require ; and see 
that one-quarter part of the officers in proper stations are 
ready to march with them. We have received this day by 
Express from the Mass*^ Bay advice that the Fleet of the 
Enemy have quitted N. York with intentions to invade some 
of the New England states aforesaid." 

As the struggle wore on it became more and more difficult 
to get the men. For the three-year enlistments, Congress 
offered a bounty of £20. At first the State offered two 
months' wages in advance. Under the calls of 1776 and 
1777, except in the latter year to the Militia when ordered 
out, the State bounty was £6. Later it was increased to 
£20 in many cases. In 1779, in lieu of bounty, 100 acres of 
land, "or such sum of money as may be given in like cases 
by the States of Massachusetts and other States."! The 
same year, to encourage re-enlistments in the Continental 
Line, New Hampshire offered a bounty of three hundred 
dollars, in addition to emoluments offered by Congress, and 
also held out other substantial rewards.* In some of the 
calls for short service between 1777 and 1783, the amount 
varied, but the inducements were made as inviting as pos- 
sible according to the length of the enlistment and the need 
of men for a particular crisis. It does not appear of record 
except in 1781 that Peterborough offered bounties in addi- 
tion to those of the State and Congress, but there is no 
doubt it did, for such was the policy of the neighboring 
towns in 1777 and in the later years of the war. 

In the last years of the struggle the subject of settlement 

+ State papers, vol. vm, p. 646. t;;State papers, vol. vm, p. 835. 

* State papers, vol. vin, p. 843. 



52 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

with the soldiers was the topic for discussion at many of the 
town meetings, and there were heated debates and great 
irregularity of action. At a meeting August 9, 1779, there 
were articles in the warrant:! 

"3diy for the town to take Some Effectual means in Set- 
tling the proportion of those Persons in sd town that have 
dun Service or Services in the jiresent ware and those per- 
sons that have not done their equall proportion to do it in 
futur, or for sd town to act then and there on the premices as 
they may think best — 

"4iy for the town to agree on some Equitable method in 
carrying on the war in futer" 

And it was 

"3iy Voted that Capt. Willm alld, Capt. Jothem Blan- 
chard,J and Capt. Sam Cuningham be a commitee to pro- 
portion what Each man in s^ town heath Done in ware with 
Grate briten, and those persons that have not done there 
proportion in s*^ ware they Shall do it also voted that S* 
Committee Should proportion according to the time done in 
s<^ ware and that they make Return under oath to the Select- 
man of S<^ town. 

"4^y for the town to agree on some Equitable method in 
Kais more men for the Soport of the ware that the Sam be 
proportioned in the most Equalable Maner and Raisd by 
poll and Estate for the futer." 

The precise meaning of these votes is doubtful, and some 
of the propositions are amusing. But the fair inference is 
that the town had offered bounties, probably, to the three 
years men. The report of the Committee is not on record. 

t Town records, vol. i, p. 60. 

X Jotham Blanchard was a prorainent man in Peterborougli during the war. 
He was born in Dunstable in 1744, and went to Portsmouth, where he lived tintil 
1773, when he removed to Peterborough. He married, November 10. 1736, Elizabeth 
Treadwell, sister of Samuel Treadwell, of Middleton, Mass., the revolutionary sol- 
dier, by whom he had eight children. He signed the Association List in Peterbo- 
rough in 1776, but was not a member of Captain Robbe's company of militia. He 
removed to Truro, N. S., in 1786, where he died March 18, 1807. His wife died in 
Truro January .5. 1811, aged 73 years. It has been suggested that he went to Nova 
Scotia on account of his tory sympathies, but in view of his action in Peterborough 
during the war— and he appears to have been one of the towni's most trusted citi- 
zens—this is without doubt an error. (See Sabine's Loyalists of the American 
Revolution.) If a convert to the cause of the British Cro^\'n he must have been a 
very late one. (See N. E. Hist, and Gen. Register, vol. lx, p. 386.) When living in 
Portsmouth he was captain in the militia, and was colonel of the militia in Truro. 
(See "Dunstable Families," page 11, for an Interesting sketch of him, by Hon. Ezra 
S. Stearns.) 



In Prosecution of the War. 53 

There were articles in the warrant for the meeting of 
February 8, 1781:* 

''Secondly: to see what method the town will take to 
Raise the ten continental men now called for and Lickwise 
to see if the town will vote to Send one or more men to head 
Quarters to See how many men Peterborough has Listed for 
three years or during the ware and vote the Same — 

"Fifthly : to See if the town will Reeve the Report of the 
Committee that was Chose to make a proportion of the 
Serverse don in the ware and to See what Instructions the 
town will Give the above S*^ Committee in Respect of those 
men that have done there Serves before they came to this 
town — " 

On the second paragraph of the warrant the town voted 
''to send Commisonar to head quarters or Else where to See 
how meney men the town heath in the Servece During the 
ware for three years and voted that Capt. Jothem 
Should be S*^ Commisiner and that Capt. Sam^ Cuning- 
ham, Leut. Mahew Wallace and Will™ Smith Should give S*^ 
Blanchard his Instruction. Allso voted two thousand five 
hundred dollars to be delivered to S^ Blanchard for which 
he is to account with the town." 

The report of this Committee or a subsequent one raised 
for the same purpose, evidently found that the town owed 
but four men instead of ten. The men found to be in ser- 
vice were twelve and their names were :t 

Thomas Scott, Timothy Lock, 

John Mathues, James Houckly (Hackley), 

Amos Spafiford, Isaac Mitchell, 

(From Peterboro Slip) Joseph Henderson, 

John Blair, Timothy Mixter, 

William De lannon, Zekeous Brooks "Transhant." 

(Ducannan) 
John Miller "Transhant," 

The voters do not appear to have been satisfied with this 
action, for at a meeting held on the 26th of the same month, 
they voted :% 

* Town records, vol. i, p. 62. 
t State papers, vol. xvi, p. 794. 
t Town records, vol. i, p. 63. 



54 Petet^horough in the Rcvohrtion. 

"that Capt Jotliem should be Dismissed from going to 
head Quarters or Elsewhere to See how meny men the town 
heath in the Servece and voted that Sam^ Moore should 
Eudver to find out how many men Peterborough heath in 
the ware. Allso voted that Leut. Alathew Wallace, Capt, 
Jothem Blanctard and Capt. Will™ Alld be a comitee, (to) 
Class the town in four Equall parts accordin to polls and 
Estates in order to Raise four men to Send into the Conti- 
nental Servece During the ware or for three years." 

This was carrying local self-government and local re- 
sponsibility to great length. The people were determined 
that each section of the town should bear its share of the 
burden and it did not satisfy their ideas of equality that the 
town as a whole did its duty in furnishing men. 

At the same meeting, February 26th, were paragraphs in 
the warrant:} 

"2iy to see if the town will make an addition to there 
former vote Relating to the Settlement of their accounts 
with those who have done Servis (in the present ware) be- 
longin to s^^ town. 

''3iy to see if the freeholders and Inhabitance will Ex- 
clude all those that will not Render (to the comittee for 
Settlement of their Services) a Just amount and those that 
do not to be deemed as not having done aney Service for S*^ 
town. Which overruled and S^^ articles negatived — 

'<4iy To See if the town will make any addition to their 
Sd former vote and Impour there S'^ Comittee to Settle and 
adjust Sd accompt of Services done by S^' Inhabitance in the 
present ware for S*^ town to theire best Skill and judgment 
So that the Sam may be done in the most Equitable manner 
possible and S^ Committee to make a Return thereof to S'^ 
town in public town meeting for their Acceptance or Dis- 
allowance as soon as may be.'' 

<'2^y Voted that no Addition Should be made to the for- 
mer vote for Settling the ware aflfire in S<^ town then voted 
to Reconsider S*^ vote and voted that there Should be two 
added to the former commitee for Setling Sd ware affair 
(viz) Leut. Mathew Wallace and Will™ Smith, Esq,— the 
third artical Should be adjorn*^ for twlve days — 

"4^y Voted to make an addition to their S^^ vote and Im- 
pour theire S^ commitee to Settle and adjost S^ accunmpts, 

X Town records, p. 63. 



In Prosecution of the War. 55 

So that the Same may be done in the most equitable Maner 
posebal and S*^ commitee to make a Return theirof to S*^ 
town in publick town meeting for their Exeeptiance or Dis- 
allowance as soon as may be." 

It is not difficult to read between the lines of this record 
and understand the character of that town meeting. The 
Scotch Irish orators debated and discussed all sides of the 
question and their talent for gab was given free rein. Jef- 
ferson's fling at the lawyers could well be applied to them, 
for it was their delight to "dispute everything, concede 
nothing and talk by the hour.'- 

On March 20th following the voters had another session 
to hear the report of the Committee, and| 

"Voted that Capt. Jothem Blanchard Should have one 
Silver Dollar p"* day, alls voted Will"^ Smith one Silver 
Dollar p*" day besides their expenses for making the average 
in S*^ town of the cost of the ware — Allso voted to allow 
Capt. Alld Leut Wallace and Capt. Cuningham four shil- 
ling^ and six hard Silver money besids there Expences p'' 
day for S<i Service — Allso voted to Accept of the average of 
the ware Acct in Sd town of Peterborough as mf„de by the 
commitee for that purpose — and voted allso that the whoU 
amount of what is due from Individuals and what is due to 
Individuals be made into a Rate, and commited to the 
Constables to Collect in usual maner and that Each Indi- 
vidual that has any moneys to Reeve have an order on Sd 
Constables for Dul3le the amount of his Rate which is to 
be in full." 

In April (10) of this year the town* 

"Voted ten pounds yearly to Each of those men that is 
now Inlisted during the war or for three years for the town 
of Peterborough." 

This action was the subject of debate in future town 
meetings as will be hereafter seen. It was strenuously op- 
posed for several years, for it was reconsidered and proposed 
again, and it was not till 1786 that the question was finally 
settled. 

The debates on these important questions were long, no 

t Town records, vol. i, p. 63. 
* Town records, p. 64. 



56 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

doubt sometimes acrimonious, and there were so many 
different opinions that the subject often got confused in the 
minds of the voters. An old man returning from one of the 
meetings during this period was asked what had been doing. 
^'Oh/' said he, "there was George Duncan, he got up and 
spakit awhile, and Mathew Wallace, he got up and talkit 
awhile, and Mathew Gray, he got up and blathered awhile, 
and then they dismissed the meeting."! 

In the meeting of May 15th an attempt was made to re- 
consider the action of March 20th, whereby the towu had 
accepted the Report of the Committee of a plan of settlment 
of war claims, but the voters refused and the plan was 
carried out.]f 

At a meeting held May 21, 1782, there was an article in 
the warrant :$ 

*'To see if the Town Will Vote ten pounds LawfuU yearly 
to Each of our Continental Soldiers now in the Army and 
Vote the same" — 

But it was negatived. This probably related to the men 
called for that year. There is nothing of record to show that 
the vote of April 10, 1781, had, up to Ma^^, 1782, been recon- 
sidered. 

But the vexed question would not down. In the war- 
rant for the meeting of February 3, 1784. there was an 
article:* 

"To Se what the Town will do in regard to paying the 
Continental Soldiers that Served for Peterborough Three 
years or during the Ware Ten pounds each year, each 
Served, or Otherwise or any Other Matter relative thereto 
and vote the same — " And it was : 

"Voted not to give the men that Served in the Continen- 
tal Army for the Town of Peterborough anything for their 
Services."** 

There was another meeting to consider the same subject 
on September 20, 1784. Apparently at some previous meet- 
ing (not recorded), held subsequent to May 21, 1782, the 

t See note to Morison's Centennial address. Hist. Peterborough, p. 275, Note. 

t Town records, pp. 6.5-66. 1 Town records, p 70. 

* Town records, vol. i, p. 87. •* Town records, vol. i, p. 89. 



In Prosecution of the War. 57 

town had voted a bounty to the three years' men, and had 
given the notes of the town, or other security, in payment. 
At this meeting (September 20, 17S4) the town voted ''not 
to pay the Severill Security that the Selectmen gave In the 
year 1782 to the Soldiers or there order that Sarved for the 
Town of Peterborough in the Continental Army."t 

The grounds for this action do not appear. Evidently 
it was diflflcult to reconcile the voters to anything which in- 
volved the payment of money. 

Still the perplexing question would come up, and there 
was great dissatisfaction at the refusal of the town to honor 
its obligations. 

The subject came before the town again, December 2, 
1785, under an article in the warrant : J 

'To choose a Committee to Settle with the Soldiers for 
all or any part of their Service done for the Town & Vote 
the same" — and it was voted that: 

^'Deacon Saml Moor, Nathaniel Evans, George Duncan a 
Committee to Settle with the Soldiers that Served for the 
Town of Peterborough according to directions they shall 
receive from the Town."** 

May 2, 1786, the voters were asked : 

3diy arpQ ggg ^]ja^ Method the Town will Take to settle 
with John Blair and other Soldiers that Stands upon the 
like footing with John Blair and vote the same." — and it 
was voted: 

gdiy '<That the former Committee (Moore, Evans and 
Duncan) for Settling with our Soldiers that Served for this 
Town for three years or During the Ware, Do Settle with 
them and make out account & Lay it before the Town."* 

Under the third article of a warrant for a meeting held 
on May 31, and adjourned to June 8, 1786, the town voted 
that: 

"John Blair, Amos Spofford, & James Hockley be allowed 
Interest for the Several sums found due to them by the com- 
mittee appointed at a former meeting, the report of whom 
was made & Accepted at the last meeting under this warrant 

+ Town records, vol. i, p. 101. i Town records, vol. i, p. 113. 

** Town records, vol. i, p. 114. * Town records, vol. i, p. 123. 



58 Peterhorough in the Revolution. 

held the 31st May last, the Interes to commence from the 
time when s*^ Report was made and accepted as aforesaid. ''t 
At the same adjourned meeting:^ 

*'The Committee for Settling with the Soldiers find there 
is due to John Blair, for one year & two months Service 
(from the time of the Vote of the town to allow Soldiers ten 
pounds per annum to the time of their Discharge) (not 
Reckoning one years service the pay for which he rec^*) Eleven 
pounds, thirteen Shillings and four pence and to James 
Hocklay one pound and thirteen shillings and four pence, 
and to Amos Spofford Eleven pound and thirteen Shillings 
and four pence, this report is Submitted to the Town at a 
legal meeting May 31, 1786, by 

George Duncan, 
Nathaniel Evans, 
Voted that this report be accepted and Entered 
on the Town Book." 

There is no record of the meeting of May 31, 1786. 

And on November lst,t there was an article in the 
warrant : 

Sixthly, ^To See if the Town will Empower the Com- 
mittee, Viz., Nathi Evens, George Duncan & Saml Moor to 
give their Security to John Blair & Other Soldiers that 
Served for the To'snti of Peterborough in the War & have not 
got their pay." 

And it was voted: 

^'That George Duncan, Dec° Samuel Moor and Nathaniel 
Evens give their Security on behalf of the Town to John 
Blair and others that Served in the late war for said Town 
according to the Vote of Said Town of May the thirty-first, 
1786 and the eighth of June following." 

In 1786 or 1787 the Legislature asked the several towns 
to report their accounts of money paid for hiring soldiers 
during the war. The subject came before the voters at a 
meeting held on October 29, 1787. There was an article in 
the warrant: 

"To see what method the Town will take to assertain the 
Accompts and charges that the town have been at in Hiring 

X Town records, vol. i, pp. 124, and 125. 

I Town records, p. 135. 

+ Town records, vol. i, p. 133. 



In Prosecution of the War. 59 

men for the war, in compliance with the request from the 
General Court and Vote the same." 

''Voted that they Selectmen receive the Accompt of the 
Service done in the War,"* 

There is no further record relating to the soldiers. 

The town filled all its quotas, and was in the end as 
liberal as any other towards its soldiers. Other municipali- 
ties in the last years of the war offered |100 in addition to 
the State and Congressional bounties, and in voting £10. for 
each year of service Peterborough was quite as generous. A 
comparison of this period with that of the Civil War indi- 
cates that our Revolutionary forefathers were as patriotic as 
their descendants in 1863. 

So small a part of the acts and deliberations of the town 
in regard to the war got upon the records that many of the 
votes preserved are obscure. With one exception the reports of 
the committees were verbal, and in but very few cases did the 
clerk think them of enough importance to write them down. 
From this neglect much of the best part of the town's history 
betweenl775 and 1783, is irrecoverably lost. But enough 
appears to see that the subject of raising and paying men 
was the occasion of many town meetings and of heated de- 
bate. The contradictory action often taken was not due to 
a lack of interest in the struggle or a want of patriotism, 
but to the pugnacious disposition of the people, their fond- 
ness for debate, their small respect for the reports of their 
committees, and their absolute independence in action of 
majority votes. In face of all the hardships of their situa- 
tion the Scotch Irish temper, while given a free field for 
exhibition, was on the side of right. 

Under the act of Januaury, 1782, the town was called 
upon for three men. J On the 21st of March, the Assembly 
voted to raise and equip the State's quota for the Continen- 
tal Army.* The number required of Peterborough was dis- 

* Town records, vol. i, pp. 149-150. 

X See Laws for 1782, book rv, p. 430. 

* State papers, vol. vin, p. 938. 



60 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

puted and there was an investigation in which the town's 
claim, that it already had men in service for which it had 
not received credit, was established. On July 12th, the 
Committe on Claims passed this vote : 

"The Town of Peterborough having produced suflScient 
proof to this Committee that they now have three men, viz : 
Jeduthen Roberts, John Barlow & John Wallace, as Soldiers 
in the Army who were not heretofore allowed to them, the 
gQi^bie President certified 'that they are to have Credit for 
the said three men on the Extent now issued against them 
for their Deficiency.' " N. H. Hist. Coll. Vol. VII, 291. 

So far as known no men were called for in 1783. 

Early in 1780 Congress called upon the States for their 
proportions of beef for the Arm}'. The Assembly took up 
the matter in April,t and on the 20th voted to set aside the 
Estate of Gov. Wentworth in Wolfborough, and then of 
other Tory absentees, not already reserved, as pastures for 
fattening cattle to answer the requisition. It was further 
voted to hire pasturing, and the act prohibited under severe 
penalties selling or driving cattle out of the State without 
leave of the Assembly or Committee of Safety. Such 
statutes, which generally included grain and other food sup- 
plies, had been enacted many times before, but they were 
usually limited to a stated date, and then re-enacted for a 
further period. It had been the policy of the State from the 
beginning of the war to conserve all its resources both for 
the army in the field and the inhabitants at home. The law 
of 1780, while relating only to cattle, rum and molasses, was 
much more drastic in its terms, and was one of the many 
statutes of the period showing the patience and determina- 
tion of the people. 

The town, addressing itself to this call of the Assembly, 
which, aside from other resources, had assessed the balance 
of beef called for upon the several towns, at a meeting held 
August 21, 1780, 

" Voted that the Selectmen assess the Sum of twenty- 

t State papers, vol. vm. pp. 855, 856 



In Prosecution of the War. CI 

four thousand pounds in Equal proportion on pole and Es- 
state and Eight thousand pounds of Beef in the same Maner 
that Sd sum of 24000 be Set in one Collum and the Beef in 
one Collum So that Each Individuell may have his choice 
which he pay or Deliver — Sd Beef Catties to be delivered 
in Good order fit for the Couttiuental armey to the accep- 
tance of Recver at the Several periods By the State Gen^ alive 
and that a colecter be Chosen for that porpose only — Voted 
that Tho^ Little be Sd Colecter according to said vote."* 

The State was called on for 1,120,000 pounds of beef, and 
Peterborough's share was 7,921 pounds.^ There was no 
further action relating to the matter in 1780. In 1781, when 
the assessment was made, the Town on June 26th : 

''Voted that the Select Men Assess the poles and Estates of 
the Inhabitants of Peterb° after the Rate of five pounds 
Hard money p'' Hundred Weight for the Continental Beef 
now ealed for from this Town or Paper Money Equal 1 
thereto."! 

The amount called for was 1,400,000 pounds, and the 
town's proportion was 9,901 pounds.** There is no allusion 
in the Town Records relating to the manner in which this 
demand was met, except as here given. 

In the same year (1781) the State was asked to furnish 
ten thousand gallons of rum for the Army, and Peter- 
borough's share was seventy and one-half gallons.!! Both 
these requisitions were filled, but except as stated in the 
meetin gof June 26, 1781, it is not recorded how or when.|I 

Previous to the Revolution the Colonies had created an 
extensive foreign trade. The seaports and the towns ad- 
jacent to them reaped the chief benefit of this commerce, 
nevertheless goods from the West Indies and from many 
foreign countries found their way to the inland towns. 

* Town records, vol. i, p. 63. 

X Acts of 1780, vol. IV, p. 105. 

t Town records, p. 67. (a) See Acts of April 29, 1780, vol. iv, p. 72, and Repeal, 
vol. 4, p. 122. 

** Acts of 1781, vol. rv. p. 214. 

1| Acts of 1781, vol. rv, p. 344. 

!! The town did not settle with Thomas Little for collecting the beef tax in 1780, 
until 1785, when the matter was placed in the hands of a committee for adjust- 
ment. Probably there was other town legislation relating to these requisitions, 
but nothing further appears on record. 



62 Peterhorough in the Revolution. 

With the beginning of the war this foreign trade was very 
much reduced, for England commanded the sea. But it was 
never entirely suppressed, and to some extent it revived as 
the war went on. In 1777 John Langdon told the New 
Hampshire Assembly that he had seventy hogsheads of 
Tobago rum in his cellar which he was ready to give in 
defence of the State against Burgoyne. It is not likeh^ that 
all of this had been in his vaults since the enactment of the 
Boston Port Bill. Throughout the war the army was fur- 
nished with large supplies of rum from the West Indies, and 
the Boston newspapers^ contain long advertisements of al- 
most every variety of English and Continental goods 
brought in by blockade runners, captured English ships, 
and colonial commerce with West India ports. ''By what- 
ever means and whatever routes English and foreign goods 
got into America, they were certainly to be had after the 
first year of the Revolutionary War."* 

In fact, there never was a time during the struggle when 
the States did not have some trade with the West Indies 
and many of the Continental ports. Goods from these 
countries were in use and their gold and silver coins were 
in circulation, and when in 1780 the currency utterly broke 
down, contracts were made and soldiers' pay was reckoned 
upon a coin basis. This would have been impossible had 
not trade with foreign nations or their dependencies con- 
tinued; and so the people, especially after 1777, could and 
did have within their reach many foreign commodities. 

Aside from this the only industries were agriculture and 
the mechanical trades. The people could raise enough to 
eat, and in their own homes — for tliere were no tex- 
tile mills — manufacture enough to wear. For the Army, 
however, it was different. There were no arms save the left- 
overs from the old French and Indian wars, and such guns 
as the settlers had for hunting game. No public stores 
of ammunition worthy of the name existed, and there were 

H See "Coutinental Journal & Weekly Advertiser" (of Boston) for Aug 13, 1778. 
* See paper by Prof. Channing in Serial of Mass. Hist. Society for February, 1911. 



In Prosecution of tlie War. 63 

only a few places in the Colonies wliere powder could be 
manufactured. Arms and munuitions of war were imported 
from France and Holland but not in quantities sufficient for 
the Army. There was but little field artillery. The cannon 
taken in the captured forts could be used for the most part 
only in defence of fortifications and for siege purposes. Of 
Army transportation, as the term is now understood, there 
was nothing. The soldiers travelled on foot, and the bag- 
gage was carried on pack horses, or in such wagons as could 
be had of farmers, which were ill-fitted for army purposes. 
There was no organized medical department worthy the 
name. The regiments had surgeons but few medical supplies, 
and these were scantily and irregularly furnished — often 
they were entirely wanting. Nor was there any ambulance 
train. From want of these necessities the health and morale 
of the Army suffered severely and the hardships of the sol- 
diers were heavily increased. Amid the general poverty 
there was little capital with which to establish industries 
for making the material of war beyond the food supplies, and 
though every effort was made the Colonies could manufac- 
ture barely enough to keep the soldiers in the field. More 
than all, there was no central power with authority to com- 
mand and exact obedience. The Continental Congress, 
which assumed to direct operations, could not compel sub- 
mission to any of its commands. At most its orders were 
mere requests to the thirteen States, which anyone could 
obey, or as was sometimes the case, did reject. The Articles 
of Confederation, which were not finally accepted by all the 
States until 1783, when military operations were substan- 
tially over, helped the situation very little. 

It was under such difficulties that the war was carried 
on. The wonder now is that the distress and privation 
were not greater, the defeats more numerous, and that inde- 
pendence was finally won. The alliance with France did 
ameliorate some of these painful conditions of the war, but 
never removed them. There is no doubt, however, that 
French gold, French munitions of war and French sympathy 



C4 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

were more potent contributors to llie final triumph than 
French fleets and armies. 

These elements of the struggle are a part of its history 
and bring into bold relief the feelings of the people, and the 
vast sacrifices they made to win the victory which was 
finally theirs. What here follows, iold in the words of wit- 
nesses writing down on the spot what they felt and saw, is 
limited to the campaigns in which Peterborough men bore 
an honorable part: 

In September, 1776, Colonel Samuel Wigglesworth writes 
from Mount Independence thus : 

''To the Committee of ^^afetji for the ^tate of New Hamp- 
shire: 

Gentlemen : 

When I waited upon you to receive a Commission for 
Docf Moores, if I am not mistaken, Col^ Thornton informed 
me that there would be a supply of Medicines proper for the 
Campaign without fail. In lioi)es that it would be so, I 
appeased the Troops at No. 4. But alas! how have we 
found ourselves mistaken. Gentlemen, I wish you could 
transport yourselves to this place for a moment to see the 
distressed situation of the troops; and no Medicines; near 
one-half of this Regiment is intirely inca]>able of any ser- 
vice; some dying almost every day. Col" Wyman's Regi- 
ment in the same unhappy situation. There are no medi- 
cines of any avail in the Continental Chest; such as are 
there, are in their native state, unprepared, no Emetick, nor 
Cathartic ; no mercurial or antimonial Remedy ; no opiate or 
E'ixir, tincture, nor even any cai)ital medicine. It would 
make a Heart of stone melt to hear the moans and see the 
distress of the sick & dying. I scarce ])ass a Tent, but I 
hear men solemnly declaring they will never engage another 
Campaign without being assured of a better sui)ply of medi- 
cines. 

The above, (Gentlemen) is the real state of this Army in 
General. Now, Sirs, think how much more unhappy & 
distressed the conditions of these troo])s must be, should the 
enemy attack our Lines. Numbers of Avounded (which is 
the never failing consequence of obstinate Battles) and 
nothing wherewith to dress their wounds, x x x 

Sam^ Wigglesworth."* 

* state papers, vol. vni. p. 371. 



In Prosecution of the War. 65 

In May the next year, when the New England States 
were making desperate efforts to save Ticonderoga and block 
the progress of Burgoyne, the Committee of Safety wrote on 
May 10th, to the New Hampshire delegates in Congress in 
regard to the Militia: 

* * * "They (the Militia) are but very ill cloathed, and 
no cloth can be procured on any terms for that purpose un- 
less Congress will order Col*' Langdon to let the State have 
some out of those in his hand, which we desire you to en- 
deavour to procure. We have scarce any stock of Lead & 
Flints and only three small field-pieces in the State. There- 
fore would have you solicit orders to CoP Langdon to Keep 
in this State three or four Field-Pieces, and such quantity of 
Lead and Flints as the General Concern will admit of. A 
Company of Artillery men will voluntarily engage in this 
Town.* A great number of our Militia is without fire-arms, 
and the greater part they have are but ordinary ; if there is 
such a supply on the Continent that, consistently, a small 
magazine might be left in this State to be used only in case 
of an attack, it might be of great advantage."! 

Noah Emery Jr., Commissary, in the following letter 
thus writes to the Committee of Safety. J 

Mount Independence, June 18, 1777. 
Gentlemen : 

Permit me in this manner to Beg your attention for a 
few minutes & to consider the Condition of our Troops here, 
whose food is now reduced to Beef & Bread only; view the 
sick Languishing & Dicing for want of the Necessaries of life 
& the well on constant fatigue fortifying against our Ene- 
mies & at all times ready to fight for their Country, and I 
doubt not you will immediately send forward to their relief 
such necessarys as you in your wisdom have already Pro- 
vided ; & further Pray you in the future to send me a con- 
stant supply for the soldiers, that there may be no more 
cause of Complaint in our Camp. 

I am with the greatest Respect, 
Gentlemen, 

Your most Obed* humb^ Serv*. 

Noah Emery, Jr. 

* Exeter. 

t State papers, vol. vni, p. 562.. 

$ State papers, vol. vm, p. 611. 

6 



66 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

In relation to the battle of Mount Independence (July 
7, 1777), and the retreat therefrom, in which the town lost 
two men, John Taggart, killed, and Titus Wilson reported 
captured but never again heard from, the following letter 
written by one Cogan to General Stark, describes the dis- 
tresses of the army. It is dated July 17th, at Moses Creek :t 

"Dear Colonel: 

Our situation puts me in mind of what I have heard 
you often say of Ticonderoga. Such a Ketreat was never 
heard of since the Creation of the world. I was ordered 
about five of the Clock in the afternoon to draw forty-eight 
Rounds pr. man; afterward, nine days allowance of pro- 
vision which I compleated about 2 of the Clock in the 
morning, and about the time I got home the Tents 
were struck, and all was ordered to retreat; but it 
was daylight before we got below your old house; such 
order surprised both officers & soldiers « * ♦ • w^^y 
left all the Continental cloathing there; in short 
every article that belonged to the array; which if properly 
conducted might be easily saved. * * * (They) Drove us a 
long two or three & thirty miles that day, till the Rear 
Guard got to Bowman's Camp; the men being so fatigued 
were obliged to stay, and were attacked in the morning by 
the Regulars, who travell*^ all Night, and just got up by the 
time we were beginning to march in a disorderly manner; 
our men being in confusion made no great of a Battle. But 
some behaved & some did not. Col. Reed acted his part very 
well. Col. Hale they said did not. Col. Hale is either 
killed or taken. Little Dwyer behaved like a lusty fellow 
& died in the Bed of Honor; as nearly as I could conjecture, 
we had odds of a thousand that attacked them; our main 
body was within six miles of us, the Indians took & killed 
a vast number of our men on their Retreats ; then was 
hurried at an unmerciful rate thro' the woods at the rate of 
thirty-five miles a day, oblidg'd to kill oxen belonging to the 
Inhabitants wherever we got them; before they were half 
skinned every soldier was obliged to take a bit and half 
Roast it over the fire, then before half done was obliged to 
March, — it is thought we went 100 miles for fear of seeing a 

t state papers, vol. vni, pp. 640-641 . 



In Prosecution of the War. 67 

Regular (I mean out of the way) there never was a field 
officer consulted, whether we should retreat or not, which 
makes them very uneasy; so that the blame of our Retreat 
must fall on our Commanders; never was soldiers in such a 
condition without cloaths, victuals or drink & constantly 
wet. Caleb (eldest son of Col. John Stark) and I are just 
as our mothers bore us without the second shirt, the second 
pair of shoes, stockings or coats, — but however, its all in the 
ContinentffZ x x x 

N. B. The officers lost all their Baggage, writings & all. 
The Rear Guard were mostly Invalids, and our Gen^ took 
away the main Body, and even refused to send assistance 
when the Cols, begged him to do it." 

The following letter, signed by some of the private sol- 
diers, was addressed to the Committee of Safety of New 
Ipswich. The signers were probably from that town, and 
it describes in blunt but graphic language the sufferings of 
the men serving in the campaign.* 

"Stillwater, August 11th, 1777. 
To the Committee of Safety, for the Town of New Ipswich: 
Gentlemen : 

"We, the subscribers who are ingaged in the actual 
service of United States of America, and the service of the 
township of New Ipswich in particular, beg leave to ac- 
quaint said town something of the treatment and usage we 
have and still receive with regard to our living, while we 
are jeopardizing our Lives in the defence of their just rights 
and privileges against the haughty insults of our unnatural 
foes and the barbarous savages of the wilderness. 

As to provisions indeed we receive some part of our 
Rations such as beef and flour, without any kind of sauce 
save only once in a while a trifle of Pease, and that but only 
seldom. We ever supposed that commissarys were to have 
been appointed and stores provided, such as sugar or molas- 
ses, cheese, choclate and divers other articles necessary 
which the Congress appointed, and allow'd to be provided, 
should have been sent forward for the use of the New Hamp- 
shire troops and delivered out or sold for the prime cost, or 
at least allowance only to be made for transporting; but 
instead of that we have little or nothing sent by the State to 

* State papers, vol. vm, p. 667. 



68 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

be purchased, which obliges us to apply to other State com- 
missarys when we want, and then pay the most extravagant 
price imaginable when ever we can at all procure any 
article, which is but seldom : Sugar at 3s pr. pound. Rum of 
the meanest at 2 Dollars a quart, and often 3 Dollars ; and 
every other article equivalent, by which means no man's 
wages would maintain him to buy the necessarys of life — 
supposing they were provided by the State, nay, they would 
do but a small part toward it, much less to maintain his 
family at home, supposing he have one. 

"Clothing is a very material article; but none has ever 
come to us; the Brigadier Genl of our Brigade borrowed a 
few frocks & trousers from the Bay Stores — wast-coats, 
stockings, etc., but we are obliged to pay for them at the 
highest rate — 22 [6 lawfull money for a single striped woolen 
wast-coat without sleeves; 18s for a paire mean sole-shoes 
& 18s for a tow shirt, etc. Some of us have lost all clothing 
we had, and every other necessary, save only the cloaths on 
our back taken from us in Battle with the Enemy on the 
7th of July past. We are true and faithful subjects to the 
State Still, and are ready to defend it at all times, living 
still in hopes of having our grievances redressed." 

The sufferings of the Army at Valley Forge in the winter 
of 1777-78, and at Morristown in the winter of 1779-80— and 
Peterborough was well represented by men at both places — 
need no recapitulation. "SMiile the dearth of arms and am- 
munition was in a measure relieved through the French 
alliance, the men suffered acutely for want of food and 
clothing in every campaign both before and after 1778. 
Over and over again Washington warned and entreated 
both Congress and the dififerent State legislatures to supplv 
these necessities or the Army would have to disband. As it 
was, barely enough was furnished to hold the troops to- 
gether, and intense suffering often ensued. There was an 
abundance of food in the country, and clothing enough 
could have been obtained. But the War broke out with the 
country totally unprepared. Congress had to depend upon 
thirteen independent states for commissary and quartermas- 
ter's supplies, and the States, wholly unorganized for such 



Ill Prosecution of the War. 69 

work, undertook to do it in an unsystematic, hap-hazard way. 
Had there been a strong central authority, armed with the 
powers that now rest with the national government, a large 
part of this suffering would have been avoided. 

From the very beginning of the War the Continental 
Congress sought to do two things : First, to unite the people 
firmly against the pretensions of the British government; 
second, to subdue and crush out all Tory sentiment in the 
Colonies. This latter effort was not entirely successful, but 
it was vigorously followed up throughout the war. In some 
States, like New York and Pennsylvania, the parties were 
nearly equal in numbers; in the New England States the 
patriots were in the majority. There were in New Hamp- 
shire as few Tories proportionately as in any other State of 
the thirteen, and yet, while 8567 signed the Association 
Test, 781, or almost ten per cent, of the citizens refused-! 
In Peterborough all signed the Test; none refused. 
But what the Tories lacked in numbers they made up in 
zeal and activity, though mercilessly pursued by the loyal 
party. 

The suppression of the British sympathizers was sought 
through the Committees of Safety. In the Non-Importation 
Association, drawn up by the first Congress in 1774, the 11th 
paragraph recommended: 

"That a Committee be chosen in every County, City and 
Town XXX whose business it shall be attentively to observe 
the conduct of all persons touching this Association; and 
when it shall be made to appear to the satisfaction of a ma- 
jority of such Committee, that any persons within the limits 
of their appointment has violated this Association, that 
such majority do forthwith cause the truth of the case to be 
published in the Gazette, to the end that all such foes of 
British America may be publicly known, and universally 
condemned as the Enemies of American Liberty." x x x* 

The second Provincial Congress of New Hampshire ap- 
proved the plan, and the Hillsborough County Congress did 



X State papers, vol. xxx, p. 167. 
* State papers, vol. vn, p. 428. 



to Peterborough in the Revolution. 

the same. The scheme was readily accepted by the towns. 
The subject came before voters of Peterborough, March 
4, 1775, when they chose their first Committee of Safety.f 

The first State Committee of Safety was chosen by the 
Fourth Provincial Congress, at Exeter, May 19, 1775. 
Later, Congress greatly enlarged the Committee's jurisdic- 
tion, authorizing it in the recess of the Congress to take 
under their "Consideration all Matters in which the welfare 
of the Province, in the Security of their rights, shall be con- 
cerned."* 

The Committee of Safety were given despotic powers for 
proceeding against suspected persons. By the law of June 
19, 1777, they hud authority to issue warrants directed to 
any Sheriff, his deputy, or to any other person, to appre- 
hend and commit to the safety of the State. The person 
serving the warrant was empowered to call for assistance in 
executing the process, and if a citizen refused aid he was 
liable to a penalty of from £5 to £20. The officer was 
authorized to break open the doors of any dwelling house or 
other building in the service of his precept, and to convey 
the defendant to prison where he was to remain without 
bail or main-prize until discharged by the Committee or 
General Court. By the same act the Committee could sum- 
mon before it any person so committed and discharge him if 
innocent or imprison him in its discretion as it might ad- 
judge necessary for the public good. This act was limited 
till January 1, 1778, but on December 24th the law was 
continued in force.| 

The Committee of Safety were watchful of the acts of 
individuals and anything that looked like hostility to the 
State or Army was the subject of prompt action. In 1777 
the Committee issued a precept to the Sheriff of Rockingham 
County ordering him to seize twenty-seven hogsheads of rum 
belonging to thirteen citizens of Portsmouth because they 

+ Town records, vol. i, p. 50. 

* N. H. Hist. Collections, vol. vn, p. iv. 

% State pai)ers, vol. vin, p. 592. 



In Prosecution of the War. 71 

had more than was sufficient for their own use and had 
refused to sell it to the Army at a reasonable price. The 
process was duly executed and the Sheriff returned that he 
had seized from five of the parties named fifteen hogsheads, 
the others not having more than enough for their own use."^ 

Such action indicates the temper of the times and the 
grim determination of the people to prevail at every cost. 

The Fourth Provincial Congress had resolved that the 
work of suppressing Toryism should be thoroughly done. 
In November, 1775,t it had requested every town and parish 
in the State to transmit either to it or its Committee of 
Safety the names and places of abode of all persons sus- 
pected of being in any way inimical to the country, together 
with the causes and evidence of such suspicion, and this di- 
rection was faithfully obeyed. 

A very broad construction was given to their powers both 
by the local and state committees. A man suspected of 
disloyalty to the Cause, or charging for his wares more than 
the market price or the figures established by the Provincial 
Congress, or of transporting goods without the State or 
violating any of the laws enacted directly or indirectly for 
support of the Colonies against the Crown, was summarily 
haled before the local Committee and his conduct thoro- 
ughly investigated. If believed guilty he was reported to 
the State Committe of Safety. If found guilty by the latter, 
he was either, in some cases, banished from the State or, in 
others, put into jail, or required to give bonds with sureties 
in tlie sum of five hundred dollars for his future behavior. 
Where the offence was not aggravated or there was some 
doubt of his guilt he was ordered to limit himself to the 
borders of his town or residence, and not pass beyond with- 
out license. As an example of how the towns construed the 
recommendations, the Brentwood Committee* 

"Voted, That if any Pedlars, Hawkers or Petty-Chapmen, 

t State papers, vol. vm, p. 500. 
t State papers, vol. vn, p. 661. 
* State papers, vol. vn, pp. 444, 445. 



72 PcterhoroK (jh in the Revolution. 

shall offer for sale any sort of Merchandise whatsoever, that 
we will use the utmost of our endeavors that they be dealt 
with according to law; and if any persons shall trade with 
or otherwise encourage such I'edhirs, by entertaining them, 
such person or persons shall be deemed and treated as ene- 
mies to this Country.'" 

^^VotccI, If any Merchant, Trader, or other persons within 
our limits, shall take of the present distressed circumstances 
of America, and by an avaricious thirst after gain, shall raise 
the price of any commodities Avhatever beyond their usual 
reasonable prices, or use their influence by word or actions, 
to disconcert the measures advised to by the Grand Conti- 
nental Congress, when nuide to appear to this Committee, or 
the major part of them, shall have their names published in 
the New Hampshire Gazette, that they may be publicly 
known, and treated as enemies to this Country." 

Some of the towns went further and denouncing the 
traffic as ''diabolical,'' threatened Hawkers and Tedlars with 
a coat of tar and feathers.f 

The law in regard to Hawkers and l*edlars dates from 
1687. But at the outbreak of the Revolution the statute 
took on new meaning, and the determination to suppress all 
forms of extravagance led the people to practice rigid 
economy- and attempt to bar out all British goods as far as 
possible. But in this they did not succeed, especially in 
the later years of the war. 

There are no official records of these local committees 
and there is no information as to what the labors of the 
Peterborough organization were, except in a single instance. 
In 1776, Lieut. Henry Ferguson was suspected of disloyalty 
and the Town Committee promptly visited him. (See 
sketch Rev. John Morison). Lieut. Ferguson had served 
one enlistment in the army at Cambridge and was an ardent 
patriot. This action against him shows the vigilance of the 
Committee and how rigidly the conduct of people was 
watched for any exhibitions of disloyalty or violation of the 
laws enacted to strengthen the Cause or prosecute the war. 

t state papers, vol. vn, pp. 424, 425. 



In Prosecution of the War. 73 

The town records contain no allusion to this phase of the 
struggle. 

The Tories were as active and zealous for their King as 
the patriots were for their Cause. The following letter 
gives some insight into their vigilance and methods in 
behalf of the Crown. Its author is unknown. It was 
written from Thetford, Vt., to one Benjamin Brooks, of 
Claremont, and is dated June 17, 1777. It is evident from 
the tone of the letter that there was no love lost between the 
two contending parties : 

I would inform you that I have just received Intelligence 
from Canada, & they are a making all preparations to come 
down & I would have you all stand in readiness to help; 
your arms are all ready for you & will be sent to some secure 
Place, so that you may have them & I will let you know 
where in a few days you may expect to receive them. I 
would have you encourage all friends of the Government, not 
to give back & let everything be kept as a profound secret ; 
for our lives depend upon it ; — for if the Place should be dis- 
covered we are gone; & if there (are) any more that have 
sworn allegiance to the King since I talk'd with you I sh<^ 
be glad to know it, for I must make a return how many 
men we can raise. I hear that Capt. Sumner is laid under 
Bonds since I saw you there ; I hope he won't be discouraged 
& if he made any Progress I should be glad to know it — I 
hope in six weeks we shall be able to clear all our friends 
from Bonds & Imprisonment : — For God's sake let everj^- 
thing be carried on with secrecy & I doubt not thro' the just- 
ness of our Cause we shall overcome the Damned Rebels. 
So I remain a true friend to Government. 

Zealous and vindictive the Committees often were, and 
many were unjustly accused; each suspect had his friends 
and partizans, and the examinations were conducted after 
star chamber methods. At any other time such proceedings 
would not have been tolerated. A person whose acts were 
susceptible of a wrong motive was promptly reported and 
an investigation followed, for the vigilance of the patriots 

t State papers, vol. vm, p. 589. 



74 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

was unceasing and doubts were construed against the 
accused. In 1777 (August 12th), "one George King re- 
ported to the President of the State Committee of Safet}^ 
that Mr. Jotham Blanchard, of Peterborough, had lately 
purchased in the Eastern Country a quantity of Cattle to the 
amount of £700 etc., and is apprehensive that these Cattle 
are intended to feed our enemies."* It does not appear 
what action was taken on this accusation. Capt. Blanchard 
must have made a satisfactory explanation, for his loyalty 
was never doubted by the people of his adopted town. A 
case occurring in New Ipswich illustrates the methods of 
these Committees. The following was copied from the 
Essex (Salem) Gazette, into the History of New Ipswich, 
pages 83, 84, 85, from which latter it has been taken : 
From the Essex (Salem) Gazette of August 24, 1775. 

In February last, the Committee of Inspection for the 
town of New Ipswich, in New Hampshire, finding Mr. David 
Hills, a trader in said town, had raised the price of some 
articles of his Merchandise; whereupon said Committee 
called him to an account, and after some debate, said Hills 
promised to adhere strictly to the Association ; so said Com- 
mittee received him again. In the beginning of the next 
March, said Hills violated the Association again in the same 
manner as before, whereupon said Committee called him to 
an account again; then he said he did not understand the 
Association nor the promise, as we did, but for the future 
he would adhere to the Association, and the promise, as we 
understood them; so was received again. Now he has vio- 
lated the Association in like manner the third time, not- 
withstanding his promise; so we again examined him, and 
he owned he had raised his price on some articles, viz : Salt, 
Fish and Rum, and says it is no violation of the Association, 
so refuses to make satisfaction. Now we, the Committee, 
advise all good people to break off all dealing with him, as 
the Association binds us all to do. 

Per order of the said Committee, 

Joseph Bates, Chairman. 

New Ipswich, July 22, 1775. 

This communication called out a vigorous reply from the 

* State papers, vol. vm, p. 668. 



In Prosecution of the War. T5 

accused which appeared in the same paper September 7th 
following : 

''The publication in the Essex Gazette, printed the 24th 
instant; signed 'Joseph Bates, Chairman of said Committee/ 
requires this piece of Justice to the public and to my charac- 
ter, that some facts therein mentioned be rightly stated : The 
customar}^ price of Salt in this town was 4s per bushel till 
Jul}' last, when the price of carting was necessarily raised 
5rf or 6fZ for want of loading to carry down, and, nearly all 
salt I have on hand ever since has cost me 3s Id per bushel 
delivered here, and the price complained of 4s 3(Z per bushel, 
— so that the advance is Zd; making an allowance for the 
casks to contain it, waste etc. I have had license to Sell 
Rum only since November last ; my price has been 2s <dd per 
gallon till July last when I raised it to 2s^ 'Sd, which has 
been the customary price here for several years, the Excise 
on it being 2d. The customary price of common Fish is 2d, 
and 3tZ per pound; this of mine is Spring Merchantable 
Fish, equal in quality to what the army is supplied with at 
19s per quintal, and my price for it is Zd, per pound. As 
for what passed in February and March last see a Vote of 
the town at the Annual meeting on March 15, viz: 'Voted 
to accept of the Committee of Inspection's report with re- 
spect to the two Shopkeepers.' This I carefully say is the 
true state of the case ; and I hereby challenge this Committee 
and the whole world to produce any evidence to the con- 
trary. This, however absurd, is less strange, than since it 
appears that two of the most leading men of the committee 
have declared against the proceedings of the United Ameri- 
can Colonies as being imprudent, and that we had better 
have complyed with the requisitions of the British Parlia- 
ment. Upon principle (it seems) not unlike that, the Com- 
mittee have proceeded in the most arbitrary & obstinate 
manner to publish said piece, utterly refusing after repeated 
intreates to submit to a hearing of the case before any other 
Committee. Now I desire all people both 'good' & bad to 
treat this Committee & their publication as they deserve. 

David Hills." 

New Ipswich, Aug. 30, 1775. 

This challenge called out a sharp rejoinder which was 
published in the same paper, September 21, 1775 : 

"The piece published on the 7th instant, and signed David 
Hills, which says 'the Publication in the Essex Gazette, 



76 Peterborough in flic Revolution. 

printed the 24th instant, signed Joseph Bates, Chairman, 
requires this piece of Justice to the public and to my charac- 
ter,' I observe is just such a piece as the tory party have 
practised to publish, mostly false and scandalous, represent- 
ing things in a false light, when he says the carting was 
necessarily raised; he hired some teams to carry and fetch 
a load at 8s l.m. a Journey, cheaper than the usual price. 
The Salt he mentions, he bought at 12s a Hogshead. The 
Fish, that he says is equal in quality to that the army is 
supplyed with, at 19s per quintal, he purchased at 16s per 
quintal, as appears from his bill from his Merchant. The 
Rum he bought a large store of at Is 3fZ per gallon, except 
one load at Is 9f/ per gallon; and as the affairs of the 
Province are now regulated by Congress — it is supposed 
there will be no Excise. It appears said Hills got his goods 
as cheap as usual, if so, I see no reason why he should raise 
his price. I should think it would be time to raise when his 
goods cost more. 

''The report of the committee he refers to, was, that said 
Hills had promised to make restitution to those he had sold 
to at a higher price than his former custom, and that he 
would adhere to the Association as the committee under- 
stood it. That said Hills and his adherents said, the ninth 
article of the Association means that the vendor of goods 
shall sell at usual profit. The Committee said it meant the 
goods shall sell at their prices. So he complyed, and made 
promise, whereupon the town Voted satisfied with said Hills 
or Shopkeepers. 

"All these things I think may be easily proved, notwith- 
standing his bold challenge. On the 29th of August last, we 
had a full town meeting, which was requested by said Hills 
and his adherents, and the town heard said Hills' complaints 
against said Committee of Inspection, — see Votes of the 
Town, viz : 'Voted to hear the complaints of Mr. David Hills 
against the Committee of Inspection' and afterwards it was 
'Voted that said Committee have gone according to the rules 
of the Association.' 

"I would further observe, that said Hills is the man that 
had a quantity of goods burnt at New York by the good 
people of that City for none of his good conduct in the time 
of the Stamp Act. After the good people of this town had 
unanimously agreed not to use any more tea, said Hills 
brings a quantity into town to sell ; thus it appears he, the 
said Hills, has proved himself guilty of perfidy, and that no 



In Prosecution of the War. 11 

solemn ties are sufiScient to hold him. Considering these 
things, it is not strange that he has published his false piece 
saying 'that two of the most leading men of the Committee 
have declared against the present proceedings of the United 
American Colonies as being imprudent, and that we had 
better have complyed with the requisitions of the British 
Parliament.' Can anyone suppose that any person can 
declare as aforesaid, and then take pains to bring people to 
an adherence to the Association? 

"As for the Committee refusing him a hearing before some 
other Committee, said Hills never asked it till the paper was 
in the hands of the printer, and then he claimed it as his 
right, given him by the Association. Now if the committee 
dealing with him as the rules of the Association direct, after 
he had violated them a third time, besides his bringing the 
Tea into town, and refusing to reform, is arbitrary then I 
know not what Arbitrary is. 

Joseph Bates, Chairman." 

New Ipswich, Sept. 13, 1775. 

The Committee found him guilty and advised "all good 
people to break off all dealings with him, as the Association 
bids all to do."* 

This judgment was based on the Non-Importation Asso- 
ciation, paragraphs 9 and 11,$ and indorsed by the Second 
Provincial Congress in its address to the people of January, 
1775. The Fourth Provincial Congress, under date of 
September 1, 1775 rf 

"Resolved by this Congress. That any person or persons 
selling or offering to sale any English Goods at an Extrava- 
gant price, or any Tea, contrary to the Express Tenor of the 
Continental Association, and not dealt with by the Committee 
of such Town or place where he or they belong (such Com- 
mittee being notified thereof & refusing) may be cited before 
the Committee of any Neighboring Town within Ten Miles, 
to answer any complaints of this kind properly exhibited 
before such Committee, and upon refusal to appear or suffi- 
cient Proof made of the Complaint so exhibited, and no 



* State papers, vol. vn, p. 569. 
{ State papers, vol. vii, p. 428. 
+ State papers, vol. vn, p. 607. 



78 Peterhorough in the Revolution. 

satisfaction given, that such extravagant sale of such goods 
as aforesaid shall be Discontinued, such person or Persons 
to be published to the world as Enimical to their country', 
that all persons note them and avoid all commercial Inter- 
course with them, according to the advice of the Continental 
Congress." 

Strenuous efforts were made to prevent speculation in 
the necessities of life, and the evils flowing from the rise of 
prices were the subject of serious deliberation at many 
meetings. 

Petition Relative to Fixed Prices for Goods. 
Nov. 26, 1776.* 

State of the Massachusetts Baij — To the Honorable 
Council and House of Representatives of the State of 
New Hampshire in General Court Assemhled, and Held 
at Exeter tvithin d- for said State of New Hampshire — 
The Petition of a Convention of the Committees, or 
Agents of the several Towns of Billerica, Chelmsford, An- 
dover Dracutt, Dunstable, Tewksbury, Westford, Haver- 
hill and Methuen, in the State of Massachusetts Bay; also 
of the Committees or Agents of the several Towns or Dis- 
tricts of Londonderry, Hampstead, Plaistow, Atkinson, Pel- 
ham, Dunstable, Merrimack, Bedford, Derryfield, Goffstown, 
Hollis, Mason, Raby, New Ipswich, Peterborough, Wilton, 
Lyndsborough and Nottingham West, in the State of New 
Hampshire aforesaid; and also of Mr. Edward Jewett, 
Agent in behalf (of a Convention of the Committees) of the 
several towns of Rindge, ^Morristown, Bath Landaff, Haver- 
hill, Piermont, Hanover, Lebanon, Plainfield, Jaffrey, Card- 
igan, Canaan, Enfield. Cockermouth, Oxford & Lyme in the 
State of New Ham])shire aforesaid ; held at the House of Maj. 
Joseph Varnum in Dracutt aforesaid, November the 26th, A. 
D. 1776, Humbly Sheweth — That notwithstanding the Asso- 
ciation and sundry other Resolves & Recommendations of 
the Honorable Continental american Congress by the Letter 
& spirit of which, and their I'roceedings in General, we 
apprehend they intended, that no unreasonable advantage 
should be taken in Ihe Purchase or sale, either of foreign 
Commodities, the Produce of our Farms, or our own ^ranu- 
factures, but that all should be sold upon reasonable Terms, 
— And by their said Association did agree, and expressly 
determine that such as are Venders of Goods & Merchandise 



* State papers, vol. xvn, p. 121. 



In Prosecution of the War. 79 

should sell at the rates they had been respectively accus- 
tomed to do, for twelve Months then last past. Many Per- 
sons in the States aforesaid, altogether disregarding the 
said proceedings of Congress & the weal of these united 
States, from mercenary, or worse views, have augmented 
the Price of by far the greater Part of the Necessaries of 
Life to an enormous Degree, many Articles of which are 
more than double the usual Prices, they were respectively 
sold for, before the Commencement of the present unhappy 
war — That some persons have been so lost to all virtue and 
Love of their Country, as to engross the most necessary and 
salable Articles, purchasing them at retail Price and imme- 
diately advancing, upon that retail Price, at least cent pr 
cent, thereby endeavoring to depreciate the value of our 
Paper Currency. That the Soldier and others not con- 
cerned in this unrighteous Commerce, are groaning under 
their Burdens & we fear cannot endure them much longer. 
That great Discontent, and uneasiness is already prevailing 
in many Parts of these States, on account of these detest- 
able Practices. That we are greatly alarmed lest Tumults, 
Disorders, and even a Disunion & backwardness in, or a de- 
fection from the common cause of America will appear in 
many Places, and great Difficulties arise, in recruiting and 
supporting the american Army (upon the success of which 
under God we look for political salvation) unless some 
Method can be found out, and speedily applied, to relieve the 
oppressed & remidy these evils, the fatal consequences of 
which, are too numerous to be inserted, & too obvious to need 
mentioning — But not to trouble this Honorable Court with a 
long Detail of our Grievances, and the probably Consequences 
of Continuance, which must be founded upon Facts so no- 
torious, that the observation and experience of each Day, 
would make it needless to mention, — Wherefore your Peti- 
tioners humbly pray this Honorable Court to take the 
Premises under Consideration, and to enact such Laws, and 
make such Provision, Regulations, as in their operation, may 
speedily & effectually, remidy the evils of which we so justly 
complain, or otherwise relieve the Petitioners and others as 
in your wisdom and Prudence it shall seem Good — And the 
Petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray — 

Signed by order & in behalf of y*^ Convention, 

John Bodwell, Chairman. 
Attest : Nathl Peabody, Clerk." 

On this petition a Committee was appointed which re- 



80 



Peterborough in the Revolution. 



ported that a Committee should be chosen to go to 
Massachusetts and consult with Committees there to bring 
in a Bill for the purpose named in the Petition, and that 
"they make it their Business so to conduct matters that a 
general regulation may taken place which may be suitable 
to the Circumstances for the four New Engl^ vStates, & that 
the Com«^ sent from hence be empowered to bring in a Bill 
as soon as may be." 

While the patriots generally observed the law, yet when 
through the inflation of the currency, prices began to rise, 
the Assembly sought to remedy the evil by fixing the cost of 
articles in common use. In 1777, as a result of the fore- 
going report, it established the following tariff of figures 
above which the articles named could not be sold :* 

£ s d 
Wheat, good, merchantable, per bushel 



Rye 

Oats 

Beans 

Cheese 

Butter 

Salted Pork 

Beef, grass fed 

Tallow, good tried 

Cotton 

Wool 

Flannel 

Linnens 

Iron Bar 

Raw-hides 

Shoes neat leather 

W. I. India Rum hd 

U U (( 

N. E. Rum, pr Bbl. 
Muscovado Sugar pr hhd 

" " " bbl 

Mutton 
Indian Corn 
Peas 
Potatoes, best in fall 

" at no season over 



per bushel 



" lb. 

ii (I 

" barrel 
" lb. 



" yard 

(I u 
" CWt 

" lb. 
" pr. 
" gallon 
" single gal 
" gallon 
per cwt 

" lb 
" bushel 



s 
0—7—6 
0—4—6 
0—2-0 
0—6-0 
0—0—6 
0—0—10 
5_0_0 
0—0-3 
0—0—7^ 
0—3-0 
0—2—2 
0—3—6 
0—4—0 
2—0—0 
0—0—3 
0—8—0 
0—6—8 

7—8 
0—4-0 
2—14-0 
3_0_0 
0—0—3 
0—3—6 
0-8-0 
0—1—4 
0—2—0 



• state papers, vol. vrn, p. 471. 



In Prosecution of the War. 81 



Pork, per lb. from 




0— 0— 4i 


to 




0—0— 4f 


Salt 


per bushel 


10 


Coffee 


" lb. 


1—4 


Flax 


u a 


10 


Stockings 


" pair 


6 


Tow Cloth 


" yard 


0—2—3 


Cotton cloth (Cotton-Linnen) 


a u 


0—3-8 


Veal 


" lb. 


0—0—3 


Soal Leather 


a ii 


16 


Upper Leather in proportion 






W. Indian Rum, 


per qt. 


2—0 


N. E. Rum per hd. 


per gallon 


3 10 


N. E. Rum, per single gallon 




4 6 


Muscovado Sugar, 


per lb. 


8 


Molasses 


per gallon 


4 



Traders were forbidden to sell at over twenty per cent, 
on wholesale price. Goods could not be sold at auction 
above these prices. Labor on the farm in summer must not 
be over 3s. 4(Z. per day. Labor of mechanics and tradesmen at 
wages as heretofore. But this did not go far enough. In 
January the next year, the Legislature passed another law* 
enacting that after January 10th of that year, no person 
should purchase any of the following articles, except in 
small quantities for their own use and consumption of their 
families or dependants, or tradesmen or artificers for the 
purpose of their own business — iron, steel, coal, rum, mo- 
lasses, sugar, wine, tea, coffee, salt, tow-cloth, or any kind 
of woolen or linen cloth, stockings, shoes, raw-hides, leather, 
wool, flax, cotton, cotton & wool, curds, butter, cheese, wheat, 
rye, barley, oats, Indian corn, beans, peas, meal, or flour of 
any kind, beef, pork, cider, tobacco, neat cattle, sheep, or 
any other live stock except to keep or fat — unless such perr 
son first obtain a license signed by the Committee of Safety 
and Selectmen. And such licenses were to be issued to such 
persons only as were of known probity and public spirit and 
were known to be friends of freedom. No license to be 

* Laws of 1778. State Archives, vol. ni, p. 384. 



82 PeterJ)orough in the Revolution. 

issued until the applicant had taken the oath of allegiance 
to the State. This law was aimed at speculators and 
Tories, and appears to have stood on the statute books 
during the Revolution. 

Fees charged for services were the subject of strict 
supervision. In 1775 it was reported to the Provincial Con- 
gress that the butchers of Portsmouth had been charging 
unreasonable fees for slaughtering cattle for supply of the 
people of that town and the military forces stationed there, 
and it was straightway voted "That the said Butchers re- 
fund all such unreasonable fees, and for the future Take 
none such, or that such Butchers be not suffered to kill any 
more Beef in said Town for the use of the said Forces." 

The Provincial Congress went even further.J On June 
11, 1775, it recommended: 

"all possible lenity & forbearance in Creditors toward 
those who may stand indebted to them, and that they avoid 
multiplying suits at Law & Especially the carrying them to 
such lengths as the Levying Execution on Real Estate which 
must in this Case (in our apprehension) be sold much below 
their Real value, xxx and we further recommend to Debtors 
all possible care and Endeavor to discharge to the utmost of 
their power, all demands against them." And the Hills- 
borough County Congress on April 6, (1775)* appointed a 
Committee "to wait upon the Gentlemen of the Barr Desireing 
that as much as in them lies consisting with honor & justice 
to Discourage all actions that may be bro't by Persons in the 
Bay Government against any man in y*^ county until the 
laws have free course in that Government." The Committee 
reported that the Bar promised to fully comply with this 
request "in all particulars." 

The men in service were also admonished to frugality and 
temperance. The same Congress voted (August 11th) : 

"When we are under the awful rebukes of Providence, and 
the burden of Publick charges must Necessarily be very great ; 
This Congress have tho't themselves in Duty bound earnestly 



t State papers, vol. vn, p. 511. 
* State papers, vol. vri, p. 448, 



In Prosecution of the War. 83 

to recommend it to the soldiers That they will not Expect or 
Desire such Large & Extravagant Treats as have been (we 
cannot but say too much) used heretofore, Nothing Doubting 
but all that are Friends to virtue and Frugality, and have a 
generous regard to the welfare of this country, will be 
pleased & gratify'd with a retrenchment of all Extravagance 
in this way ; and therefore we earnestly recommend it to all 
officers of the Militia whether of higher or lower rank to for- 
bear all Extravagance & Practice a laudable Moderation & 
Economy in this way."* 

The next year the Assembly enactedf that when a person 
was indebted on a simple contract to anyone in New Hamp- 
shire, and was possessed of real or personal estate, it should 
be lawful to sue and take out execution against him unless 
the defendant should give good security to answer the plain- 
tiff's demand; and if it appeared that the defendant had 
made tender of the amount due within six months of the 
time suit was brought the action should be dismissed with 
costs to defendant. And by the same statute it was enacted 
that when action was brought against a soldier absent in 
service the action was to be continued until his return home. 

The people were urged by resolutions and circulars 
scattered broadcast to refrain from all routs, riots and other 
disorderly conduct, to live frugally, and to pay special at- 
tention to cultivating their crops, and to raising cattle and 
sheep, that public demands might be promptly met. In 
1778$ was passed an act whereby all persons named therein 
who had left or should leave the State and join the enemy, 
and should return without first having obtained leave by 
a special act, were to be arrested and committed to jail until 
they could be sent out of the State. On arrest and notifica- 
tion the Board of War were authorized to order them trans- 
ported to the British dominions or to some place within 
control of the British Array. If such persons again volun- 
tarily returned without leave they were to suffer death. 

* state papers, vol. vii, p. 605. 
+ State papers, vol. vm, p. 344, 
t State papers, vol. vm, p. 810. 



84 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

The act names 78 persons subject to its provisions. The 
list is headed by the name of Governor John Wentworth; 
thirty-four were from Portsmouth, and the balance from 
other towns. The only Peterborough name is that of John 
Morrison, "Clerk." Later, on November 28th,* a law was 
enacted confiscating- the estates of twenty-eight of those 
listed in the prior statute.f The probable explanation is 
that the other fifty named in the law of November 19 had 
neither real estate nor personal property. The name of 
John Morrison does not appear in the later act, and it is 
known that he had nothing when he left Peterborough in 
1775, The name of Alexander Stuart, the other Peter- 
borough soldier reported a deserter, is not on either roll. 
These two are, so far as known, the only men of the town 
who were disloyal to the American Cause. 

By such means and methods the people sought to 
strengthen their case against the British Crown. Some of 
the legislation was arbitrary and tyrannical and would not 
at any other time have been submitted to, even in the stress 
of our late Civil War. But the people were fully aware of 
the odds against which they were contending, and they knew 
that defeat meant farewell to their liberties and political 
death to their State. They also knew that it meant death 
for some of their most trusted political and military lead- 
ers. Devotion to the Cause demanded these measures and 
the people saw to it that they were enforced. Their courage 
and fortitude in the field are not greater examples of their 
determination than are the readiness and loyalty with which 
they demanded and enforced these drastic laws. 

* State papers, vol. vm. p. 813. 

t One motive in the enactment of these statutes which were passed at the re- 
quest of the Continental Congress, probably was to raise funds to carry on the war. 
If that was the purpose it failed, for very little was in the end realized from the 
sales. Even the large estate of Governor Wentworth yielded nothing. 



CHAPTER IV. 

\Mk\i ' ■ ' 

CAMPAIGNS OF 1775 AND 1776. 

, ' . i : ■ : 

News of the departure of the British troops from Boston 
for Concord on the night of April 18, 1775, reached Peter- 
borough early on the morning of the nineteenth. The mes- 
senger came from New Ipswich, entering the town by the 
Street Road.* The clatter of his horse's hoofs coming down 
the hill awakened James Wilson, son of Robert Wilson, a 
lad of nine years, who was asleep in the attic of his father's 
house. Robert Wilson's tavern was on the west side of the 
Street Road two-thirds of the way down the hill, and about 
seventy-five rods south of what has long been known as the 
''Wilson Corner." The horseman reined up at the door and 
gave the alarm. Robert Wilson was then captain of the Peter- 
borough Company of Militia, and his house was a general 
rendezvous as well as the headquarters of the militia. He 
immediately got up, called his hired man and sent him out 
to notify the people. By ten o'clock every able-bodied man 
in town was at the tavern with such arms as he owned, and 
ready to march. Some had firearms with a meagre supply 
of powder and ball; some of the guns were the old, heavy, 
clumsy Queen's arms ; some were light, French pieces, called 
*'Fusees." Many of the guns had seen hard usage in the Old 
French War. Some of the men had pitchforks, some shilla- 
lahs, and one ardent patriot was armed with his grain flail. 
The men were of all ages, untrained in the soldier's art, and 

♦ This account of the scene at Wilson's Tavern is from a paper prepared for Dr. 
Albert Smith during the time that he was writing his History of Peterborough, by 
Gen. James Wilson. General Wilson had it from his father, who as a lad of nine 
years was an eye-witness. 



86 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

their uniforms of homespun were as various in cut and color 
as the personalities of the wearers. Before noon of that day 
every able-bodied man in town was on the march for the 
seat of war under the command of Captain Wilson. 

In his (-entennial address Dr Morison has added many 
interesting details of the departure : 

" 'We all set out/ to quote the words of an actor in the 
drama, 'with such weapons as we could get, going like a 
flock of wild geese, we hardly knew why or whither.' The 
word reached (.'aptain Thomas Morison at daylight, and in 
two hours, with his son and his hired man, he was on his 
way, they on foot, and he on horseback carrying a bag with 
pork in one end of it and a large baking of bread just taken 
from the oven in the other. '1 was willing,' said an aged 
woman to Dr. Morison, 'that my father and brothers should 
run their chances with the rest.' 'I will not taste your 
tea,' said another, 'I would as soon drink a man's blood.' " 

The men, many of whom were mounted, marched down 
through New Ipswich and Townsend. On reaching Groton 
they heard the story of the Concord fight, and part of their 
number turned about and went home, among them Captain 
Wilson. The rest kept on to Cambridge. We know the 
names of those who kept on, for probably all of them en- 
listed. Everything at Cambridge was in confusion. The 
militia, in organized companies from the towns of eastern 
Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire, were on the 
ground, but without regimental commanders. There were 
other men in great numbers wholly unorganized and without 
responsibility to any one. Among these were the men from 
Peterborough, There was neither head nor system, nor 
authority in anyone to organize the New Hampshire men 
into companies and regiments. But there was Opportunity, 
and Captain William Scott seized it. He organized, on his 
arrival, a company of minute-men, the roll of which is here 
given. It had sixty-five officers and men. On the original 
roll all are accredited to Peterborough, and the men were 
paid for their services by Massachusetts. 



Campaigns of 1775 and 1776. 



87 



Officers. 



William Scott, Captain 
William Cochran, Ensign 
Randall McAllister, Serg't 
James Hawkley, Sergeant 
James Caldwell, Corporal 
Charles White, Corporal 



William Scott, Lieutenant 
Josiah Monroe, Sergeant. 
John Swan, Sergeant 
James Scott, Corporal 
Andrew Bayley, Corporal 
Daniel Read, Drummer 



Zaccheus Blood 
Jonathan Barnard 
John Blare 
John Caldwell 
Sami Caldwell 
Jer*^ Fairfield 
John Graham 
Tho^ Green 
Jno Halfpenny 
John Hillsgrove 
David White 
Joseph Green 
James Mitchell 
James Moore 
James McKeen 
Arch*! McMillan 
Timy Mixter 
Wm. Mitchell 
Isaac Page 
Jno Rano 
Jno Robinson 
Thos Scott 
John Scott 
James Stinson 
Sam^ Treadwell 
Thos Hewstone 
James Thompson 



Privates. 

Nath^ Burrows 
(Barnett) Paul Caldwell 

Rich*^ Emery 

Wm French 

Wm Graham 

Richd Gilchrist 

Jonas Howe 

James Kanady 

Michael Woodcock 

Solomon Leonard 

Wm Kemp 

Geo McClurg 

Rob* McClurg 

Jno Mathews 

James Marshall 

jgph Procter 

David Robbe 

Rich<^ Richardson 

Wm Scott 

David Scott 

Joseph Stanford 

Sami Smith 
^ Jno Tucker 
^ George Willson 
t;' Jno Taggart 
fc|S- John Wilson 

Mass. Archives, Vol. XIII, Page 104- 



This company was in service but three days. On April 
23d, Captain Scott recruited another company which was 
composed of substantially the same men. But others joined 
later, making the total roll of the new company seventy-two 



88 PeterT}orongh in the Revolution. 

officers and men. The roll here given is from the original 
in the Massachusetts Archives at Boston, Vol. 16, Roll 40. 

Officers. 

William Scott, Captain 

William Scott, Lieutenant 

William Cochran, (Stoddard) Ensign 

Kandall McAllister, Sergeant 

James Hawkle}-, Sergeant 

Daniel Read, Medford, Drummer 

Joseph Norcross, Watertown, Fifer, July 10 

Josiah Monroe, Sergeant 

John Swan, Sergeant 

Andrew Bailey, Corporal 

Charles White, Corporal 

James Scott (Stoddard), Corporal 

James Caldwell (Windham), Corporal 

Privates. 

Barnett, Jonathan (Society Land) 

Blair, John 

Burrows, Nathaniel (Londonderry) 

Blood, Zaccheus (Stoddard) 

Caldwell, Samuel (Windham) 

Caldwell, John (Windham) 

Caldwell, Paul (Londonderry — killed June 17) 

Emery, Kiehardson 

Fairfield, Jeremiah 

French, William (Packersfield — killed June 17) 

Gage, Isaac (Londonderry). 

Graham, William 

Green, Joseph (Swanzey) 

Green, Thomas (Swanze}' — wounded June 17) 

Gilchrist, Richard 

Graham, John 

Gregg, Jacob, June 13th 

Hillsgrove, John (Temple) 

Halfpenny, John 

How, Jonas (Marlborough — killed June 17) 

Kanaday, James (Colerain) 

Kemp, William (Stoddard) 

Leonard, Solomon 

Marshall, James (Bridgewater) 



Campaigns of 1115 and 1116. 89 

McClourg, George 

McClourg, Robert 

McMillan, Archibald (New Boston — wounded June 17) 

Mitchell, James 

Mixter, Timothy 

Morrison, John (Deserted) 

McKeen, James 

Mathews, John 

Mitchell, William 

Moore, James 

Osmond, Henry (Londonderry) 

Page, Isaac (Londonderry) 

Proctor, Jeremiah (Stoddard) 

Rano, John (New Britan) 

Richardson, Richard (Stoddard) 

Robinson, John (Londonderry) 

Richey, James, June ISf 

Robbe, David (Stoddard) 

Scott, John 

Scott, William 

Stanford Joseph (Packersfield) 

Stuart, Alexander (Deserted) 

Scott, David (Stoddard) 

Scott, Thomas 

Smith, Samuel (Bedford) 

Stinson, James 

Taylor, Joseph, June ISf 

Tucker, John (Newbury) 

Taggart, James 

Taggart, John 

Treadwell Samuel 

Willson, George (Stoddard) 

Willson, John (Stoddard) 

Woodcock, Michael 

White, David 

All were from Peterborough, unless otherwise desig- 
nated. Stanford served until April 23d to the credit of 
Peterborough, and under his enlistment of April 23d to the 
town of Packersfield (Nelson). The Massachusetts printed 
rolls, which give all the different enlistments of the soldiers, 

f Date of enlistment. 



90 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

assign George Wilson, Richardson, Barnett, Thomas and 
Joseph Green to Peterborough ; David and James Scott, and 
David Robbe to Peterborough and Stoddard. But the origi- 
nal roll of the company in the Massachusetts Archives, Vol. 
XVI, Roll 40, gives the men's residences as set forth in the 
above list. The following names accredited in the above roll 
to towns other than Peterborough, either served an enlist- 
ment to the credit of Peterborough at some period of the 
. war or were identified with the town during some portion of 
their lives : Lt. William Cochran, Corp. James Scott, Privates 
Jonathan Barnett, Samuel Caldwell, Joseph Green, Thomas 
Green, Richard Richardson, David Robbe, David Scott. 

When the ranks were full the company was assigned to 
the regiment of Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent. Colonel 
Sargent was from Amherst, New Hampshire, but was com- 
missioned Colonel by Massachusetts, and re-commissioned 
Colonel in January by the same province. Captain Scott's 
company, while composed of New Hampshire men, was 
under Massachusetts field officers throughout its term of 
enlistment. There were other men from Peterborough in 
Massachusetts regiments in this campaign, namely: 

Retire Bacon, private in Capt. Moses Harvey's Co., Col. 

Jona. Brewer's Regiment. 
John Butler, adjutant of Col. Jona. Brewer's Regiment. 
Thomas Little, private in Capt. Henry Haskell's Co., 

Col. William Prescott's Regiment. 
Ebenezer I'erkins, private in Capt. Joseph Moore's Co., 

Col. William Prescott's Regiment. 
Jeduthen Roberts, private in Capt. Dexter's Co., Col. 

Woodbridge's Regiment. 

The men serving in Col. John Starks' regiment were : 

John Burns, private in Capt. Gordon's Hutchins' Com- 
pany. 

James Gregg, private in Capt. John Moore's Company. 

John Gregg, private in Capt. John Moore's Company. 

James ^liller, private in Capt. Joshua Abbott's Com- 
pany. 

Samuel Moore, Jr., private in Capt. John Moore's 
Company. 



Campaigns of 1775 and 177G. 91 

Robert Morison, private in Capt. Henry Dearborn's 
Company. 

Jolin Morison, private in Capt. George Reid's Company. 

John Wallace, private in Capt. Henry Dearborn's Com- 
pany. 
Those serving in Col. James Reed's Regiment were : 

John Elliot, private in Capt. Ezra Towne's Company. 

Hugh Gregg, private in Capt. Philip Thomas' Company. 

Samuel Mitchell, private in Capt. Ezra Towne's Com- 
pany. 

Thomas Morison, private in Capt. Ezra Towne's Com- 
pany. 

John Stroud, private in Capt. Benj. Mann's Company. 

James Taggart, lieutenant in Capt. John Marcy's Com- 
pany. 

John White, Sr., private in Capt. Jacob Hind's Com- 
pany. 

A total of sixty-nine officers and men accredited by the 
New Hampshire or Massachusetts rolls to Peterborough in 
the campaign of 1775, but not all of them can be properly 
claimed as belonging or serving to the credit of the town 
in that campaign. Many of the men serving in 1775, upon 
their discharge, immediately re-enlisted and served through 
the year 1776. There are no rolls of this service, and their 
names, all of them, cannot be given. Some of those who 
served in 1775 claimed an enlistment for that year (1770). 

It was not until the 20th of May that the Fourth Pro- 
vincial Congress decided to raise troops for the war. On that 
day they voted to recruit two thousand men, to be divided 
into three regiments. John Stark, who had been acting 
under a commission from Massachusetts, was appointed 
Colonel of one, and James Reed of Fitzwilliam, of another 
regiment. The third was placed in command of Enoch Poor, 
of Exeter, and was kept in the Colony to guard against in- 
vasion by way of the coast.* June 6th the Provincial Con- 
gress adopted the following oath to be taken by the men 
enlisting : 



* State papers, vol. xiv, p. 37. 



92 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

"I, A. B., Swear I will truly & faithfully serve in the 
New Hamp. troops to which I belong for the defence and 
security of the Estates, Lives and Liberties of the good 
People of this & the Sister Colonies in America, in opposi- 
tion to Ministeral Tyranny by wch they are or may be op- 
pressed, & to all other Enemies & opposers whatsoever, & 
that I will adhere to the Rules & Regulations of sd army, 
observe and obey the Genl «& other officers set over me, & dis- 
close and make known to sd officers all Fractious Con- 
spiracies, attempts and designs whatsoever, which I shall 
know to he made against sd army, or any of the English 
American Colonies. So Help Me God."t 

At the battle of Bunker Hill some companies of 
Colonel Sargent's regiment, among them Captain Scott's, 
are claimed to have been under the command of Colonel 
Stark during the engagement. The better opinion is that 
Captain Scott's company was never attached to Colonel 
Stark's regiment. Of that the authorities are not agreed. 
However it may be, Captain Scott's company was in the 
thick of the fight and lost heavily. The original roll of his 
company is in the Massachusetts Archives and the men were 
j)aid by Massachusetts for their entire enlistment. 

The men were recruited to serve until the 31st of the 
following December, unless sooner discharged, whether en- 
listing into Masachusetts regiments or into the New Hamp- 
shire organizations above named, and actually did so serve. 
Their pay was the same as that given by Massachusetts,} 
namely, forty shillings per month, travel, and a coat or four 
dollars as its equivalent in money. 

The number of Peterborough men actually in the battle 
of Bunker Hill cannot be determined. Elijah Dunbar asserts 
there were sixteen. Dr. Morison says seventeen and that 
twenty-two were present.|[ Dr. Smith adds seven to Mr. 
Dunbar's list.** 

It is reasonably certain that there were many more. The 

t State papers, vol. vn, p 505. See Agreement of enlistment, N. H. Hist. Coll., 
vol. vn, p. 2. 

t State papers, vol. vu, p. 477. 

1 Hist, of Peterborough, p. 269. ** Same, p. 158. 



Campaigns of 1775 and 1776. 93 

Massachusetts and New Hampshire rolls give the names of 
sixty-nine men who belonged to the regiments of Colonel 
Brewer, Colonel Prescott and Col. Woodbridge of Massachu- 
setts, Colonel Stark and Colonel Reed of New Hampshire, 
and to Captain Scott's company of Colonel Sargent's regi- 
ment, all of which regiments were present and took part in 
the action. It is inconceivable that less than one-third of these 
sixty-nine men were present in the ranks on the morning of 
June 17th, No rolls of the above regiments for the 16th 
and 17th of June, showing who were present, absent on de- 
tached service, or upon the sick list, are known to exist ; but 
after making liberal allowances for absentees, there must 
have been between forty and fifty Peterborough men in the 
battle, basing the statement upon the rolls of the two 
colonies. " 'Tis true 'tis pity" that the number cannot be 
certainly stated, "and pity 'tis 'tis true." 

Six of the Peterborough men were wounded, namely : 
Joseph Taylor (mortally), Randall McAllister, Thomas 
Green, George McClourg, John Graham and Lieutenant 
William Scott.* 

News of the battle was brought to Captain Robert Wilson 
the next night, and created intense excitement in Peter- 
borough. The messenger gave the information that the 
enemy were advancing on the American lines. Early the 
next morning "every able-bodied man," with such weapons 
as could be obtained, set out for Cambridge. News of the 
result of the battle met them at Townsend, and those on foot 
turned back. Most of the mounted men kept on to West 
Cambridge, where they broke into a large, vacant house, and 
spent the night.f Next morning the men who had sons in 
the battle set out to learn the fate of their children, and the 
particulars of the fight. 

In August, 1775, General Washington determined to 

♦Prescott's regiment lost: Killed 43, wounded 28; Col. Stark's— killed 15, 
wounded 45; Col. Reed's— killed 5, wounded 21 ; Col. Brewer's— killed 7, wounded 11 ; 
Col. Nixon's— killed 3, wounded 10; Col. Woodbridge's— killed 1, wounded 5. 

t Morrison's Centennial address in Hist, of Peterborough, p. 269. 



94 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

attack Quebec, and for the purpose organized a force of 
eleven hundred men out of the troops around Cambridge. 
The expedition was placed in command of Benedict Arnold, 
and was to enter Canada by way of the Kennebec River. The 
men were relieved from duty in the regiments to which they 
belonged, and left Cambridge on the evening of September 
13, 1775. The perils and hardships of that campaign need 
no repetition here. A full account, with several rolls of the 
men, and lists of the killed, wounded and prisoners, may be 
found in Volume VI, pages 129-134, of the New England 
Historic Genealogical Register. Their equipment and 
uniform consisted of a rifle-barreled gun and a long knife, 
called a scalping knife, an under dress covered by a deep 
ash-colored hunting shirt, and leggins and moccasins if they 
could be procured. In this expedition were : 

John Blair, 2d, in Capt. Henry Dearborn's company. 
John Burns, " " " " 

James Moore, " " " " 

Blair and Burns were in the battle under the walls of 
Quebec. They were taken prisoners and were not released 
until the folloAving July. 

On the first of December, 1775, the term of the Connec- 
ticut troops serving about Boston expired, and they refused 
to remain longer in service. Their officers begged them not 
to leave the army at so critical a time, but they insisted upon 
going home. General Washington and General Sullivan 
then wrote to the New Hampshire Committee of Safety for 
men to fill their places. The Committee met at Exeter, De- 
cember 2d, and issued orders for recruiting. In a very 
short time thirty-one companies of sixty-one men each were 
ready, and on the way to Cambridge. The men were to 
serve until January 15, 1776.J In this levy were: 

Henry Ferguson, first lieutenant in Captain Eleazer 
Cumming's New Ipswich company. 

t N. H. Hist. Society Coll., vol. vii, p. 27. 



Campaigns of 1775 and 1776. 95 

John Smith, private in Capt. Peter CoflSn's (Exeter) 
company. 

Smith was at the time a student in Phillips Exeter 
Academy. 

In June, 1776, the Continental Congress made a requi- 
sition on New Hampshire for a battalion of troops to rein- 
force the army in Canada. The Legislature, June 14th, voted 
to raise and equip a regiment of seven hundred and fifty 
men. Each private and non-commissioned officer was to 
receive a bounty of £6 and one month's pay in advance; 
wages were to be the same as those of the Continental troops. 
The regiment was to rendezvous at Haverhill on the Con- 
necticut River.* The Colony had already raised one regi- 
ment for that service, which had been placed in command of 
Colonel Timothy Bedel. The signs in the direction of 
Canada were ominous, and there were the gravest fears. 

In communicating the resolution of Congress to the New 
Hampshire authorities John Hancock said : 

"By the best intelligence from Canada, it appears that 
our affairs in that Quarter wear a melancholy Aspect. 
Should the Canadians and Indians take up arms against us 
(which there is too much Reason to fear) we shall then have 
the whole Force of that country to contend with, joined to 
that of Great Britain and all her foreign Auxiliaries. In 
this situation wbat steps must we pursue? The Continental 
Troops alone are unable to stem the Torrent, nor is it pos- 
sible at this day to raise and discipline Men by the Time they 
will be wanted. The Militia of the United Colonies are a 
Body of Troops that may be depended upon. To their 
Virtue their Delegates in Congress now make the most 
solemn appeal. They are called upon to say whether they 
will live Slaves or die Freeman they are requested to step 
forth to defend their Wives, their Children, their Liberty 
and everything they hold dear. The cause is certainly a 
most glorious one; and I trust every one in the Colony of 
New Hampshire is determined to see it gloriously ended or 
to perish in the Ruins of it."t 

* State papers, vol. xrv, p. 311 ; vol. vra, p. 198. 
t State papers, vol, vm, p. 128. 



96 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

Of this regiment Isaac Wyman of Keene was appointed 
Colonel. The men were to serve until the first of the 
following December. In it were the following men from 
Peterborough, or serving to the credit of the town, all in 
Captain Joseph Parker's (New Ipswich) company: 

Joseph Babb, Sargent Page, 

John Graham, Alexander Robbe, 

Hugh Gregg, William Scott, Jr., 

George McClourg, Robert Swan, 

Robert McClourg, John Taggart, Ensign. 

The retreat of the army from Canada in the early sum- 
mer caused fresh alarm, and July 2, 1770, the Legislature 
voted to raise another regiment of seven hundred and fifty 
men, of which Joshua Wingate of Stratham was commis- 
sioned Colonel.* The men were to have the same pay and 
bounty as those of Colonel Wyman's regiment, and were to 
serve until the following December.! In it was : 
John Murphy, Capt. Samuel Nay's campany. 

The army of southern New York suffered disastrous 
defeat in August, and the Continental Congress called for 
reinforcements. The Assembly of New Hampshire, Septem- 
ber 14th, voted to raise one thousand men, to be divided into 
two regiments, eight companies to a regiment, to serve until 
the first of the following December. A bounty of £0 (twenty 
dollars), one penny per mile travel, and one penny in lieu of 
baggage wagons, were voted to each non-commissioned 
officer and private, to be made equal afterward to the boun- 
ties paid by Massachusetts. Wages and rations were to be 
the same as those of the Continental army.J Nahum Bald- 
win of Amherst was appointed to the command of one of 
these regiments, and in it were the following men : 

John Alexander, Capt. John Houghton's Company. 
Benjamin Allds, " Philip Putnam's " 

Richardson Emery, " Abijah Smith's " 

* Slate papers, vol. xiv, p. 339. 
t State papers, vol. vin, p. 184. 
X State papers, vol. xiv, p. 396; vol vm, pp. 337-339, 



Campaigns of 1775 and 1776. 97 

John Gregg, Capt. Saml. McConneirs Company. 

Nathaniel Holmes, " Abijah Smith's " 

Benjamin Mitchell, " " " " 

James Moore, " " " " 

Thomas Morison, " " " " 

Robert Smith, " " " " 

John Swan, " " " " 



This regiment was in the battle of White Plains. 

The other regiment was commanded by Colonel Thomas 
Tash, of Newmarket, and in it there were : 

Robert Morison, Capt. Daniel Runnell's (Reynolds) 

company. 
John Stuart, Capt. Daniel Runnell's (Reynolds) com- 
pany. 

In November, 1776, General Washington called on New 
Hampshire for men to reinforce the garrisons at Forts George 
and Ticonderoga to take place of tlie men there stationed 
whose terms were about expiring. December 4th the Assem- 
bly voted to draft five hundred men from the several regi- 
ments as soon as possible and send them to New York. 
David Gilman of Exeter was commissioned Colonel of this 
regiment.* The wages were to be the same as those paid by 
the "State of the Massachusetts Bay." One month's wages 
were paid in advance "and twenty shillings per month over 
the Stated wages as a bounty to each non-commissioned offi- 
cer and private; also two pence per mile for Travel."t The 
men served until March 12, 1777. In it were: 

Peter McAllister, Capt. Francis Town's Company. 

James Taggart, " " " " 

Charles White, Sergeant, " " " " 

William White, " " " " 

The Colony of New Hampshire raised two other regiments 
this year, one under Colonel Timothy Bedel, and the other 
under Colonel Pierce Long, but there were no Peterborough 
men in either so far as known. 



8 



* State papers, vol. vm, pp. 403-409. 
+ State papers, vol, xiv, p. 436. 



98 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

Very early in the war tlie mischiefs of short-term enlist- 
ments were severely felt. As a general rule the men de- 
manded their discharge when their terms had expired, and 
were deaf to all appeals to remain in service longer. They 
were farmers, who had left their farms and families suddenly 
and for a definite period to meet a pressing call; and when 
their terms expired they insisted on a discharge in order to 
look after their private affairs. The military situation and 
the imperative need of men to enable the army to hold its 
ground or to press home an advantage against the enemy 
could not move them. 

Congress determined to change its policy. In transmit- 
ting the resolve of Congress to raise a standing army. Presi- 
dent John Hancock thus forcibly states the evils of short- 
term enlistments under which the Colonies had hitherto 
labored. His letter is dated September 24, 1776 : 

'To make men well acquainted with the duties of a sol- 
dier requires Time; and to bring them into proper subordi- 
nation and Discipline not only requires time but is a work 
of much difficulty. We have had frequent experience that 
men of a few days' standing will not look forward ; but as 
the time of their discharge approaches, grow careless of their 
arms, ammunition, etc., & impatient of all Restraint. The 
Consequence of which is, the latter Part of the time for which 
the soldier is engaged, is spent in undoing what the Greatest 
Pains had been taken to inculcate at first. Need I add to 
this, tliat the Fall of the late General Montgomery before 
Quebeck is undoubtedly to be ascribed to the limited time 
for which the Troops were engaged, whose Impatience to 
return home, impelled him to make the attack contrary to 
the conviction of his own Judgment. This Fact alone fur- 
nishes a striking Argument of the Danger and Impropriety 
of sending Troops into the Field, under any Restriction as 
to the Time of their Tnllstment. The noblest enterprise may 
be left unfinished by Troops in such a Predicament or aban- 
doned at the very moment success must have crowned the 
attempt. 

'The heavy and enormous expenses consequent upon 
calling for the Militia, the Delay attending their motions, 
and the DiflSculty of keeping them in the Camp render it ex- 



Campaigns of 1115 and 1116. 99 

tremely improper to place our whole dependence upon them. 
Experience hath uniformly convinced us of this, some of the 
Militia having actually deserted the Camp, at the very 
moment their services were most wanted. In the meantime 
the strength of the British Army, which is great, is rendered 
much more formidable by the Superior Order and Regularity 
which prevail in it." 

September 16, 1776, Congress voted to raise eighty-eight 
battalions, the men "to serve during the present war." 
Three were assigned to New Hampshire as her share of the 
call. A bounty of twenty dollars and one hundred acres of 
land were offered to each non-commissioned officer and sol- 
dier enlisting.* Later, as a further inducement, they were 
offered annually "a suit of cloathes," which for the first year 
were to consist of two linen hunting shirts, two pairs of 
overalls, a leather or woolen waistcoat with sleeves, a pair of 
breeches, a hat or leathern cap, two shirts, two pairs of hose, 
and two pairs of shoes, amounting in the whole to the value 
of twenty dollars, or that the sum be paid to each soldier 
who shall procure those articles for himself.f Permission 
was given to recruit for this call from the men already in 
the field. 

When the matter came before the Assembly a committee 
was chosen to go to Ticonderoga and to the army in southern 
New York to enlist as many as possible from among tlie 
New Hampshire men whose terms were about expiring.^ 
This Committee had the further power, or at least exercised 
it under the recommendations of Congress, to select and 
commission the field and line officers of the regiments.^ The 
Assembly offered as additional bounty to the men, "one blan- 
ket or 18s annually, and 20« per month to be paid semi- 
annually."** 

Of these regiments John Stark was appointed Colonel of 
the first, Enoch Poor of the second, and later Alexander 
Scammell of the third. Tn the following March, Stark, tak- 

* state papers, vol. vm, pp. 349, 351. t State papers, vol. vm, p. 374. 

X State papers, vol. vm, p. 353. 1[ State papers, vol. vm, p. 375. 

** State papers, vol. vm, p. 393. Note. 



100 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

ing offence that Congress had promoted an oflQcer of inferior 
rank over him to be Brigadier General, resigned his com- 
mission and left the service. Joseph Cilley, April 1, 1777, 
was made Colonel in his place, and commanded the regiment 
until late in 1781. 

Among the captains commissioned in the first regiment 
was William Scott, afterward known as Major Scott. His 
commission was dated November 7, 1776. He remained with 
it until the army was disbanded in 1783, rising to the rank 
of Major and later to Lieutenant Colonel bv brevet, in com- 
mand of the regiment. 

The following Peterborough men enlisted into Stark's 
(later Cilley's) regiment in 177G,* all in Major Scott's com- 
pany: 

James Hackley, Thomas Sanderson,! 

John Mathews, Michael Silk, 

John Millet,! Ephraim Stevens, 

Isaac Mitchell, John Wallace, 

James Moor, 

Josiah Monroe, Lieutenant, accredited to Amherst 
On many of the rolls the date of enlistment of these men 
is given as January 1, 1777, and afterward during that year. 
The rolls cannot be made to agree, but it is a matter of little 
importance. The men enlisted into that regiment, and 
served three years. 

Toward the end of 1776, the town's stock of ammunition 
ran low, and the Selectmen filed with the Committee of 
Safety the following petition :^ 

''To the Honourable Committee of Safety for the State 
of New Hampshire. The humble petition of the Selectmen 
of the town of Peterborough : in behalf of the town afores^ 
humbly sheweth — that the s*^ towni of Peterborough is almost 
Destitute of powder & lead: and like wise of Arms and 
there is none to be had in this part of the State: and in Case 
of an Alarm incapable of assisting our Friends in the 

* State papers, vol, xvi. p. 471. See also Kidder's History of First N. H. Regi- 
ment, and personal sketches, where the dates are given as in 1777. 
t Probably should be accredited to Temple. 
X Some rolls say he did not enlist until April 1, 1777. 
^ State papers, vol. xvi, p. 791. _ 



Campaigns of 1775 and 1776. 101 

Common Cause therefore we pray your Honour to Grant us 
some relief by M"^ James Templeton and take his security 
and as we in Duty bound will ever pray. 

October 25 — 1776 Sam^ Cunningham 

William McNee 
Kalso Gray Selectmen 

A. Brown" 
In answer to this application the Committee of Safety on 
October 30th, ''ordered Gen^ Folsom to deliver to M"" James 
Templeton for the Town of Peterboro' 54 lb of Powder, 
taking Security to Ace*, therefor" — N. H. Hist. Coll. Vol. 
VII, page 63. 

These are the only allusions to be found relating to the 
supply of ammunition for the town during the war, except as 
appears in the returns of the census for 1775. 



CHAPTER V. 

CAMPAIGNS OF 1777-1781. 
1777. 

The campaign of 1777, in its nearer and remoter results, 
was decisive of the war, although five more years passed 
before Great Britain ofiticially admitted her defeat. The 
British scheme of military operations for the year was 
wisely conceived and planned, and had it been vigorously 
supported by the Ministry and faithfully and energetically 
executed by the British Commanders the final outcome 
would in all probability have been Colonial defeat. It was 
aimed chiefly at New England, the stronghold of the 
American cause, and from its beginning to the surrender 
ot Burgoyne the people of that section were in constant 
dread of the consequences that would surely follow the 
presence and procedure of a hostile army. In no other 
campaign of the War did the Colony of New Hampshire put 
so many men into the field, and in none other were the calls 
for troops so frequent, nor the public excitement so persis- 
tent and so intense. More than an}' other campaign of the 
eight years' conflict does it justify a detailed re-statement of 
its inception, progress and execution.* 

The campaign of 177G had closed with the brilliant vic- 
tories of Trenton and Princeton, which had strongly revived 
the drooping faith of the Colonies in the final success of 
their cause. But on the northern border the war clouds 
were dark and threatening and the operations of 1776 fore- 
shadowed what the British would attempt the following 

* For a critical and very able discussion of this campaign, see paper by Hon. 
Charles Francis Adams in Proceedings of the Mass. Hist. Society, vol. 44. 



Campaigns of 1777-1781. 103 

year. General Howe had captured New York City and 
secured a firm grip upon the southern part of the State. 
General Carleton, the British Commander in Canada, had 
driven the American forces from his province, destroyed the 
little fleet on Lake Champlain which General Arnold had 
built to oppose his progress, and, invading New York, had 
taken Crown Point. At the approach of winter he had 
retired into Canada, and the American forces re-occupied the 
fortress. It was well understood, both in Canada and in the 
Colonies, that when the season of 1777 opened operations on 
the same line would be resumed. 

General Burgoyne had been with Governor Gage through 
1775, and was active in aiding Governor Carleton in Canada 
the following year. He was an officer of established mili- 
tary reputation earned on battlefields in Europe, and was 
known as a brave, resolute and energetic commander. He 
was a member of Parliament, a dramatist of acknowledged 
merit, and a ready and graceful writer of prose. His dis- 
position and temper were kindly and humane, and he did not 
share the bitter feelings of his Royal Master towards the 
American people. Altogether he was not unworthy of the 
high command given him in 1777, and the responsibility for 
his failure rests with those higher in authority. 

In the winter of 1776-77 General Burgoyne returned to 
England to perfect and hasten the plan for the invasion of 
the Colonies from Canada the ensuing summer. The British 
Cabinet gave close attention to the scheme. The leading 
spirit of the Cabinet in American affairs was Lord George 
Germain, a vain, self-confident, shallow man, who had been 
in military service upon the Continent long enough to 
demonstrate his utter incapacity for even a subordinate 
military command, let alone the direction of a campaign the 
scene of which was three thousand miles away. Between 
General Burgoyne and the Ministry the following plan was 
devised: General Burgoyne with a force of ten thousand 
men was to invade northern New York and march down the 
Hudson River; General St. Leger, with a force of Indians 



104 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

and Tories, was to set out from Fort Niagara and march 
down the Mohawk Valley, destroying all American posts and 
troops on his way; and General Howe was to ascend the 
Hudson River from New York. The three armies were to 
unite at Albany. If this plan succeeded the great State of 
New York would be etfectually subdued, and the New Eng- 
land states would be cut off from the other Colonies and 
could be easily overrun and crushed. 

The scheme looked both feasible and promising — on 
paper; but it was doomed to failure from the start through 
the carelessness and incompetence of Lord George Germain 
himself. The primary condition of its success lay in the 
perfect co-operation of the three generals in command, and 
this was practically impossible. Howe's letters to Burgoyne 
had to travel in sailing vessels fifteen hundred miles from 
New Y''ork around the New England coast to the mouth of 
the St. Lawrence, and thence down that river to Quebec and 
Montreal. Three months were required to get answers to 
letters dispatched from New Y^ork City to the Canadian 
commanders. By the most direct overland route the two 
generals were three hundred miles apart, separated by an 
almost impenetrable forest, without roads, bridges or sail- 
ing craft. General Burgoyne wrote to Lord George Germain 
that of ten messengers he had sent by land and by different 
routes with dispatches to General Howe, two were caught 
and hanged as spies, and the other eight were never heard 
from. Between Howe and Burgoyne and St. Leger there 
was no communication whatever from the beginning of the 
campaign to the end. In two other points also tlie British 
plan was weak.f Its devisors ignored the fact that the 
Americans could operate from the inside while the British 
were on the outside of the semi-circle. Washington was at 
Morristown with the main body of the American army, 
within three or four days' march of Albany; Putnam was 
guarding the passes of the lower Hudson, within two days' 
march of Schuyler, who had a force of four thousand regu- 

t Hon. Charles Francis Adams in Proceedings of Mass. Hist. Society, vol. 44. 



Campaigns of 17771781. 105 

lurs and militia at Albany; all three within comfortable sup- 
porting distance of each other. Secondly, both British 
Cabinet and British generals greatly over-estimated the 
number of Tories in New York and New England, and their 
value as a co-operating force to the British armies; thirdly, 
they grossly under-estimated the spirit and temper of the 
New England people, and their potency as a fighting factor 
in the struggle. The inhabitants were farmers, peaceable 
and peace-loving, not strangers to war, but when their homes 
and liberties were at stake, ready to fight to the last ditch. 
This Burgoyne discovered when it was too late ; to his Royal 
Master he afterward gave them full credit for their fighting 
qualities. 

Burgoyne's orders left him no discretion; he had to 
carry out his part of the plan regardless of what became of 
St. Leger and Howe. But Howe's orders were discretionary, 
and that discretion he exercised. In his choice he became 
the most important cause of the failure of the campaign. 
He knew what the plan was, and what part he was to take 
in it. He called for reinforcements of fifteen thousand men 
and twenty-nine hundred were sent him; at no time did he 
receive positive instructions to march to Albany, although 
the order was drawn up and only needed the signature of the 
Minister. A note on page 233 of De Fonblanque's Life of 
General Burgoyne* says that Lord E. Fitzmaurice, in his 
life of Lord Shelbourne, quotes a memorandum left by that 
statesman in which he speaks of the ^'negligence of office," 
and says: ''Lord George (Germain) having among other 
peculiarities a particular aversion to be put out of his way 
on any occasion, had arranged a call at his office on his way 
to the country, to sign dispatches ; but as those addressed to 
Howe had not been 'fairly copied,' and he was not disposed 
to be balked of his projected visit into Kent, they were not 
signed then and were forgotten on his return to town." De 

* See his Life of Burgoyne, page 233. See also Trevelyan's comments on the 
authenticity of the story which he discredits in his "American Revolution," vol. 
— , part III, p. 236. 



lOG Peterhorough in the Revolution. 

Fonblanqiie says (of this order) that it was sufifered to be 
pigeon-holed in London, wherein it was found after the con- 
vention at Saratoga, wanting only the signature of the Minis- 
ter; and that it relates to the full and implicit instructions 
of the Ministry to Sir William Howe as to his co-operation 
with Burgoyne. This story shows the habits and methods of 
the British Cabinet in its conduct of the War; it is one of 
the most interesting episodes of the Revolution. 

General Howe had already formed another plan for his 
own movements. He purposed to make a campaign into 
Pennsylvania, fight and destroy Washington's army in New 
Jersey, and capture Philadelphia, the capital of the Colonies. 
This, so he reckoned, would destroy the rebellion in the three 
states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. When 
done, he would march up the Hudson and co-operate with 
Burgoyne. April 5, 1777, he wrote to Sir Guy Carleton in 
Canada as follows :t 

"Having but little expectation that I shall be able from 
want of sufficient strength in the army to detach a corps in 
the beginning of the campaign to act up Hudson River, con- 
sistent with the operations already determined on, the force 
your excellency may deem expedient to advance beyond your 
frontiers, after taking Ticonderoga will, I fear, have little 
assistance from hence to facilitate their approach, and as I 
shall probably be in Pennsylvania, when the corps is ready 
to advance into this country, it will not be in my power to 
communicate with the officer commanding it so soon as I 
should wish. He must therefore pursue such resources as 
may from circumstances be judged most conducive to the 
advancement of His Majesty's service consistently with your 
Excellency's orders for his conduct." 

A copy of this letter was forwarded to Lord George Ger- 
main, who, on the 18th of May, thus replied to General 
Howe:* 

"Your secret letter of April 2d, with its two enclosures 
received. As you must from your situation and military 

+ See English Historical Review for October, 1910. 
* English Historical Review. October, 1910. 



Campaigns of 1777-1781. 107 

skill be a competent judge of the propriety of every place, 
His Majesty does not hesitate to approve the alteration 
which you propose. Trusting however that whatever you 
may meditate it will be executed in time for you to co- 
operate with the army ordered to proceed from Canada and 
put itself under your command." 

General Howe received his final orders for the campaign 
June 5th, but they contained no directions to march up the 
Hudson, and he felt free to make his campaign in Pennsyl- 
vania as he had proposed.f Burgoyne was thus deprived of 
his main support. The fate of the other co-operating force 
was more tragic, and its failure to aid Burgoyne complete. 
St. Leger set out from Fort Niagara with his Indians and 
Tories, and on reaching Oriskany near Fort Stanwix, a 
bloody engagement was fought with the American forces 
under General Herkimer. Neither side could claim the 
victory ; but the Indians deserted, and learning that General 
Arnold was approaching with a heavy reinforcement, St. 
Leger abandoned the field and all his camp equipage, which 
fell into the hands of the Americans, and retreated to 
Canada. From this time he ceased to be a factor in the 
campaign, and Burgoyne was left to fight his battle alone. 

General Burgoyne set out from Canada early in May 
with high hopes of success. His force consisted of 4000 
British Regulars, 3000 Germans, 500 Indians and a few hun- 
dred Tories. The Regulars and Germans were thoroughly 
disciplined troops, accustomed to war, and led by able and 
experienced officers. The army was well supplied with ma- 
terial for war in an open country, but much of it was of 
little use in the wilderness through which it had to march. 
Burgoyne reached the northernmost limits of Lake Champlain 
early in June. Meantime the object of his march had be- 

t Both Sir William and his brother, Lord Howe, were savagely attacked in Eng- 
land the following year for their conduct of the campaign. The question came 
before Parliament and an investigation was started; but the Ministry, and partic- 
ularly Lord George Germain, were too deeply responsible for the failure to permit 
the inquiry to go on. For a report, and criticism of the British commanders, 
printed in communications to Parliament, in pamphlets and in the press, and for 
the opinions of Tories relating to their conduct, see Proceedings of the Mass. Hist. 
Soc, vol. 44, papers by Hon. Charles Francis Adams and Worthington C. Ford. 



108 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

come well known throughout New England, and the appeals 
of the American Commander-in-Chief were not needed to 
arouse the people to a realizing sense of their peril. The 
composition of the invading force increased their alarm and 
indignation. They had fought the Indians, and they knew 
well what they had to expect from Burgoyne's dusky allies. 
The}' had as great dread of the German hirelings, and their 
fears of them were almost as well founded.* 

As early as February, 1777, Washington wrote to the New 
Hampshire authoritiest appealing for troops to reinforce 
General Schuyler at Albany, fearing a winter attack over 
the ice of the lakes. "'When you consider," he said, "of how 
much importance it is, to prevent the enemy passing the 
Lakes and forming a junction with the force below I hope 
you will excuse my making this request the subject of a 
separate letter." 

Again in July he gave to the same authority expression to 
his fears. And when he heard that General Burgoyne was 
on the Lakes, he was afraid that General Howe's first and 
immediate movement w^ould be up the North Kiver, and that 
the two armies would co-operate and favor each other's 
attack.f 

From the middle of April onward, the threatening news 
came thicker and faster. On the morning of May 2, 1777, 
dispatches reached the Committee of Safety at Exeter in- 

* In his examination before a committee of Parliament the following year 
General Robertson, one of General Howe's commanders, thus testified; 

Question— '-Do you know, or ever heard, that the Hessian troops were encour- 
aged to go to America by the hopes of plunder?" 

Answer—"! have heard say that the Hessians, before they went away, were told 
that they were going to a country where they would have great plunder; but I 
don't say that any Hessian officer ever made use of any expression of that sort." 

Question— "Do yoa believe that the Hessians looked on America as a hostile 
country?" 

Ansirer—"! believe so The Hessians were ignorant of the people; when they 
saw those people in arms it was natural for them, who did not know the people, to 
think they were enemies. People better informed too much adopted the notion." 

Question — "From your experience of war, in Europe, did you ob.serve, that 
there was more plundering in America than would have been by any army in 
Europe, in an enemy's country?" 

Answer — "The practice of Armies in Europe is very different. Some people in 
Euroi)e would not let their armv plunder, even in an enemy's country." 

—Proceedings of Mass. Hist. Soc. for A^ov. 1910. p. 119, 

t State papers, vol. 'VIII, pp. 489-490 

t State papers, vol. vm, p. 620. 



Campaigns of 1777-1781. 109 

forming them that the garrison at Ticonderoga was in dan- 
ger, and urging that the militia of the State be sent forward 
to reinforce it. The Assembly was not then in session, 
and the Committee of Safety, which had full powers to act 
in such emergencies, through its chairman, Hon. Josiah 
Bartlett, issued the following circular to the Colonels of the 
different militia regiments of the State.* 

"Sir: 

"By repeated Expresses we are assured our Enemies 
are moving on all Quarters, and unless sudden re-inforce- 
ments are thrown into Ticonderoga that important Post 
will be lost, and all your part of the Country laid open to 
the merciless rage of our vindictive Enemies. The supine- 
ness and careless temper that has but too much appeared 
thro' the Country of late will be our Ruin, unless immediate 
exertions be made, to serve our country. The Massachusetts 
have ordered 1|2 the militia in the county of Berkshire to 
March to Albany, and 1500 of Hampshire to Ticonderoga. 
1 entreat you by all that is sacred to raise as many of your 
Militia as possible and march them to Ticonderoga. Reflect 
a moment on such a scene as this: Suppose your house is 
in Flames, your wife, your daughters ravished, your sons, 
your neighbors weltering in their Blood; and the appear- 
ance of a few moments bringing you to the same Fate — 
Consider these things, I say; tell them to your Militia, and 
surely you may tell them with the greatest Probability unless 
they, together with the country in general awake from the 
sleep they are now in. Yet if the Country will now exert 
themselves like men of spirit & Resolution, I firmly 
believe, that God, who has hitherto saved the Americans, 
will now assist their Endeavours and a few struggles more 
fix their liberties on a solid basis, x x x x 

"Shall we remain idle and suffer that diminished Army 
which we kept from getting So little ground last year, to 
proceed with rapidity this? 

By order of the Committee 
Your H^i Sevt. 

Josiah Bartlett, Chairman" 

On the same day orders were issued to Colonels Ashley, 

* state papers, vol. vin, p. 551. 



110 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

Bellows, Chase and Hale* to raise and forward as many men 
out of their militia regiments as possible for the relief of 
Ticonderoga. Colonel Ashley recruited and sent forward 
one hundred and nine men; Colonel Bellows, one hundred 
and twelve; Colonel Chase, one hundred and fifty-nine; and 
Colonel Hale, fifty-four, under the command of Captain 
Josiah Brown.f 

The Peterborough soldiers enlisting under Colonel Bellows 
were: 

Samuel Lewis; 
under Colonel Chase: 

David Ames, 

John Gray, 
and in Captain Brown's Company were: 

Thomas Davidson, 

William Robbe, Sergeant, 

Thomas Smith, 

John White, Sr. 
The men enlisted May 7th and were discharged between 
the 10th and 18th of June, after a service of a little more 
than a month. Their pay was £3 per month with an allow- 
ance for travel. They marched to the western part of the 
New Hampshire Grants, now Vermont, when they received 
word that the enemy had fallen back. They were then 
ordered home and discharged. 

While these men were on the way the Committee of 
Safety issued the following order to General Folsom then 
commanding the State Militia : 

In Committee of Safety, May 8, 1777... 
''To Major General Folsom: 

"By several Intelligences and circumstances lately re- 
ceived there is the greatest reason to believe that the 
Enemies Forces will be employed this Summer against the 
New England States, and there is the greatest Probability 
that some of them will shortly land in this State. There- 
fore you are directed immediately to send Orders to the sev- 
eral Colonels of this State to give orders once more, and 
take the strictest care to see them fulfilled, for all men in 

t State papers, vol. xv, p. 1. 

*N. H. Hist. Soc. Collections, vol. vu, p. 93. 



Campaigns of 1777-1781. Ill 

their several Regm*® to be properly equipt ready to march at 
a minutes warning — both Alarm List and Train Bands 

"And further Recommend to all persons capable of bear- 
ing arms constantly to carry their Fire Arms, ammunition 
and accoutrements for war to the places of Publick worship, 
and all other Places where their Business leads them as 
much as they can with any degree of convenience; as we 
know not the day or the hour when an attack may be made on 
our Border; and as it is of the greatest importance to meet 
our Enemies before they have time to get much footing, and 
to stop those Infernal Traitors among ourselves who may be 
disposed to join them."{ 

Soon after the discharge of these men word again came 
that Ticonderoga was in danger, and that a large British 
force was within a few miles of the fort. The expectation 
was that if the fort was captured New Hampshire would be 
invaded. The militia were hastily called out and responded. 
The following men answered the call : 

In Colonel Bellows' regiment: 

Daniel Mack, in Capt. William Keyes' Company. 
Robert McClourg, in Capt. William Keyes' Company. 

In Colonel Ashley's Regiment : 

Thomas Smith in Capt. Elisha Mack's Company. 
Thomas Smith, also enlisted in Col. Chase's regiment. 
In Lieutenant-Colonel Heald's battlaion was a company 
composed almost entirely of Peterborough men, as follows : 
Alexander Robbe, Captain, 
Samuel Cunningham, Sergeant, 
Charles Stuart, Sergeant. 

Privates : 

David Ames, Thomas Morison, 

Joseph Babb, Timothy Mixter, 

William Blair, Samuel Moore, Jr., 

Adam Gregg, Samuel Robbe, 

Isaac Houston, William Scott, 

Samuel Houston, James Smith, 

Samuel Lewis, Thomas Steele, 

Joseph Miller, Robert Swan, 

James Mitchell, William Swan, 

Samuel Mitchell, Jonathan Wheelock, 

John Morison, John White, Sr, 

X State papers, vol. vin, p. 559. 



112 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

In Captain John Taggart's Sharon Company were these 
men, also from Peterborough, or identified with the town : 
John Swan, Sergeant, 
Privates : 

Hugh Gregg, John Robbe, Corporal, 

John Kanaday, James Scott, 

Randall ^McAllister, James Stanford, 

David Robbe, John Swan. Jr. 

And in Captain Stephen Peabody's Company : 
John Stuart. 

Colonel Bellows's regiment got as far as Castleton, where 
word was received that Ticonderoga had fallen, and it was 
thought best to return home. Colonel Ashley's regiment 
received the same intelligence at Otter Creek, and was 
ordered back to No. 4 (Charlestown), where it was again 
ordered to go forward at once. It did so, but soon met the 
army in retreat, when it turned about. When Captain 
Robbe's and Captain Taggart's Companies reached No. 4 
they also were advised to return, and they marched to 
Rindge, where they disbanded. Bellows's and Ashley's men 
were in service from eight to fourteen days, and the other 
two companies five days. All were mustered out of the 
service by July 12th. 

Ticonderoga fell the first of July, and the alarm and 
anxiety stirred up the people to fresh exertions. July 18th 
the Assembly re-organized the militia into two brigades ; the 
first under the command of Colonel AVhipple; the other, con- 
sisting of the regiments of Colonels Nichols, Ashley, Moore, 
Stickney. Hale, Bellows, Hobart, Morey and Chase, under 
the command of General Stark. The Assembly made General 
Stark responsible for his conduct to the I^egislature or to the 
Committe of Safety.* This made his command an indepen- 
dent corps, free from the control of General Washington or 
Congress, which drew from the latter a vigorous protest. 
But Stark's patriotic conduct prevented any serious results, 
and, as is well known, he and his men rendered the cause 

• State papers, vol. vm, p. 630. 



Campaigns of 1777-1781. 113 

most eflScient service. On the same day, July 18th, the 
Assembly ordered a draft of one-fourth of the militia of 
Stark's brigade and of three regiments of the First Brigade, 
to serve for tw^o months. The men were to be paid £4 per 
month, with one month's pay in advance, and as a ''further 
encouragement in this time of general alarm, an additional 
allowance of Ad per month."* Five days later (on the 23d) 
the Committee of Safety notified General Ward (of Massa- 
chusetts) that it would immediately order the Colonels of 
the regiments in the First Brigade, except the three named 
in the former order, "to draft one-half of the Militia of their 
respective commands, who are to be properly equipt to 
march at a minute's warning, to those places where their aid 
should be found necessary," and orders to this effect were 
issued the same day.f 

The people's fear of Hessians and Indians was more 
than justified by the British Commander's instructions to 
Colonel Baum, in organizing the expedition to Bennington 
to seize or destroy the large quantities of stores the Ameri- 
cans had collected there. He gave Colonel Baum a force of 
about 800 men, which consisted of two or three companies of 
British regulars and the rest Hessians, Tories and Indians, 
and these instructions : 

''During your whole progress, your detachments are to 
have orders to bring in to you all horses fit to mount the 
dragoons under your command, or to serve as bat-horses to 
the troops, together with as many saddles and bridles as can 
be found. The number of horses requisite besides those 
necessary for mounting the regiment of Dragoons, ought to 
be thirteen hundred. If you can bring more for the use of 
the army it will be so much the better. Your parties are 
likewise to bring in waggons, and other convenient carriages 
with as many draught oxen as will be necessary to draw 
them, and all cattle fit for slaughter (milch cows excepted) 
which are to be left for the use of the inhabitants. Regular 
receipts in the form hereto subjoined are to be given in all 
places where any of the above mention'd articles are taken, 

• State papers, vol. vni, p. 635. i 
t State papers, vol. vm, p. 645. 
9 



114 Pcto'horovgh in the Revolution. 

to such persons as have remained in their habitation and 
otherwise eomplyed with the terms of Gen'l Bnrgoyne's 
manifesto; but no receipt to be jjiven to such as are known 
to be acting in the service of the rebels. As you will have 
persons with 3'ou perfectly acquainted with the abilities of 
the country, it may perhaps be advisable to tax the several 
districts with the proportion of the several articles and 
limit the hours of the delivery; and should you find it neces- 
sary to move before such delivery can be made, hostages of 
the most respectable people should be taken to secure their 
following you the eusuing day. All possible means are to 
be used to prevent plundering."* 

This was not so much a license as it was an order for 
wholesale and indiscriminate spoliation, and in the hands of 
Hessian soldiers, Tories and Indians, meant rapine and mur- 
der. The orders of General Sherman in 1864, ''to forage 
liberally on the country," were mercy and justice beside these 
instructions of the British Commander. The people knew 
what to expect from their ruthless foes and promptly rallied 
in defence of their homes. 

Under the foregoing orders of the Assembly and Com- 
mittee of Safety the regiments of Colonel Stickney and 
Colonel Nichols, among others, were raised. In Captain 
Stephen Parker's (New Ipswich) Company of Colonel 
Nichols's regiment were the following Peterborough men : 
Dr. John Young was surgeon of the regiment, and Robert 
Wilson, Major: 

Samuel Cunningham, Lieutenant, 
Samuel ^Mitchell, Sergeant, 
John Robbe, " 

Thomas Morison, Corporal, 
Samuel Lewis, " 

Privates : 
John Blair. James Mitchell, 

William Blair, William Moore, 

Simpson Hogg, Sargeant Page, 

Thomas Little, William Robbe, 

Charles McCoy, Jeremiah Smith, 

Samuel Miller, John Stroud (in Captain 

Benjamin Mitchell, Solomon Stone's Co.), 



James White. 



♦ State papers, vol. vm, p, 665. 



CampaUjns of 1777-1781. 115 

Robert Morison, in Captain Daniel Runnells's (or Rey- 
nolds) Company, 
John Stuart, 

Major Robert Wilson was in both the Bennington and 
Saratoga campaigns, but whether on the staff of General 
Stark or as Major of Colonel Nichols's regiment, the rolls 
give no information. 

A contemporary has left behind a description of the 
Company as it appeared when it marched out of New Ips- 
wich on July 19, 1777, It is taken from the History of New 
Ipswich, page 95. 

'To a man, they wore small-clothes, coming down and 
fastening just below the knee, and long stockings with cow- 
hide shoes ornamented by large buckles, while not a pair of 
boots graced the Company, The coats and waist coats were 
loose and of huge dimensions, with colors as various as the 
barks of oak, sumack and other trees of our hills and 
swamps could make them, and their shirts were all made of 
flax, and like every other part of the dress, were homespun. 
On their heads- was worn a large round top and broad brimmed 
hat. Their arms were as various as their costumes ; here 
an old soldier carried a heavy Queen's arm, with which he 
had done service at the Conquest of Canada twenty years 
I>revious, while by his side walked a stripling boy, with a 
Spanish fuzee not half its weight or calibre, which his grand- 
father may have taken at the siege of Havana. While not a 
few had old French pieces, that dated back to the reduction 
of Louisburg. 

"Instead of the cartridge box, a large powder horn was 
slung under the arm. and occasionally a bayonet might be 
seen bristling in the ranks. Some of the swords of the offi- 
cers had been made by our Province blacksmiths, perhaps 
from some farming utensil. They looked serviceable but 
heavy and uncouth. Such was the appearance of the Conti- 
nentals to whom a well-appointed army was soon to lay down 
its arms. After a little exercising on the Old Common, and 
performing the then popular exploit of "Whipping the 
snake" they briskly filed off up the road, by the foot of 
Kidder Mountain, and through the Spofford Gap toward 
Peterborough ; to the tune of 'Over the hills and far away.' " 

To a Tory the appearance and military bearing of these 
men may have suggested Falstafif's description of his sol- 



116 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

dJers on their march through Coventry; but a truer deline- 
ation would have been Macaulay's sketch of the character 
of Cromwell's Ironsides : 

'"These persons, sober, moral, diligent and accustomed to 
reflect, had been induced to take up arms, not by the pres- 
ence of want, not by the love of novelty and license, not by 
the arts of recruiting officers, but by religious and political 
zeal mingled Avith the desire of distinction and promotion. 
The boast of the soldiers as we find it recorded in their 
solemn resolutions, was, that they had not been forced into 
the service, nor had chiefly enlisted for the sake of lucre; 
that they were no janizaries, but free born Englishmen, who 
had, of their own accord, put their lives in jeopardy for the 
liberties and religion of England, and whose right and duty 
it was to watch over the nation they had saved."* 

In Colonel Stickney's regiment, raised at the same time 
and for the same purpose, were: 

John Gregg, in Captain Peter Clark's Company, 
Samuel Houston, Corporal, in Capt. Samuel McConnell's 

Company, 
Isaac Houston, " " " " 

John Morison, " " " " 

The regiments of Colonels Nichols and Stickney were in 
the thick of the battle. General Stark's description of the 
engagement is spirited and interesting, and as it describes 
the movements in which the Peterborough men were during 
the action, it is given in part herewith : 

"The 16tli I was joined by this State's Militia and those of 
Berkshire County. I divided my army into three Divisions 
and sent Col. Nichols with 250 men on their rear of their 
left wing ; Col.^ Hendrick in the Rear of their right with 300 
men, order'd when join'd to attack the same. 

"In the meantime I sent 300 men to oppose the Enemy's 
front, to draw their attention that way; Soon after T de- 
tach'd the Colonels Hubbart (Hobart) & Stickney on their 
right wing with 200 men to attack that part, all which plans 
had their desired efl'ect. Col. Nichols sent me word that he 
stood in need of a reinforcement, which I readily granted, 
consisting of 100 men, at which time he commenced the attack 
precisely at three o'clock in the afternoon, which was fol- 

*;Macauley's History of England, vol. i, p. 93. 



Campaigns of 1777-1781. 117 

lowed bv all the rest. I pushed forward the remainder with 
all speed; our people behaved icith the greatest spirit d 
bravery imaginable. Had they been Alexanders or Charleses 
of i<iceden. they could not have behaved better. The action 
lasted two hours, at the expiration of which time we forced 
their Breastworks at the muzzles of their guns, took two 
pieces of Brass cannon, with a number of prisoners; — but 
before I could get them into proper form again. I rec*^ in- 
telligence that there was a large reinforcement within two 
miles of us on their march, which occasion'd us to renew oui 
attack. But luckily for us Col. Warner's Regiment came up, 
which put a stop to their career. We soon rallied. & in a 
few minutes the action became very warm Ac desperate, which 
lasted till night; we used their own cannon against them, 
which proved of great service to us. At Sunset we obliged 
them to retreat a second time: we pursued them till dark, 
when I was obliged to halt for fear of killing my own men,"* 

After Bennington the two regiments joined the army of 
General Gates at Stillwater, but it does not appear* that 
they were in the battle of September 19th. Their term of 
enlistment expired on that day. They had abandoned their 
farms at the height of the busy season, with their crops un- 
harvested, and they insisted on their discharge. Accord- 
ingly they were dismissed and sent home. 

The withdrawal of the two months' men crippled the 
army, and strong efforts were made to fill the depleted ranks. 
Thursday, August 7th, was appointed as a day of fasting and 
prayer, and it was generally observed throughout the State. 
August 6th, General Gates wrote to the President of the 
Assembly for a regiment of Militia to reinforce his army.t 
It does not appear whether this call was answered, but on 
September 5th orders were issued to the Colonels of six of 
the militia regiments to draft one-sixth part of their respec- 
tive commands, to go to Bennington and join General 
Stark ;t to march September 1.5th, and to remain in service 
until the last day of November. Calls were also made for 
volunteers. Of the men thus raised, Colonel Daniel Moore 

• X. H. State papers, vol. vm. pp. 670-6T1. 

+ State papers, vol. vm. p. KT. 

J CoUections N. H. Hist. Soc.. vol. vn. p. 115. State papers, vol. vm. p. 676. 



118 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

commanded one regiment and Captain Joseph Findlay, of 
I/ondonderrv, a company of volunteers. In Captain Edmund 
Briant's (New Ipswich) Company, of Colonel Moore's com- 
mand, were: 

Wlliam Blair, William 8cott, 

William MeNee, Sergeant, Thomas Smith, 

John Miller, John Swan, Jr. 

Thomas Morison, William White, 

Samuel Robbe, John White, Sr., Corporal, 

John Scott, 
Also. Solomon Dodge, Sergeant, in Captain Peter Clark's 
Company ; James Scott in Captain James Lewis's Company, 
and Daniel Mack in Captain Samuel Canfield's Company of 
Colonel Bellows's Regiment. 

These men served until October 25th, when, Burgoyne 
having surrendered, they were dismissed. 

In Captain Findlay's Company of Volunteers were: 

Nathaniel Holmes, William McKeen. 

This Company was not discharged until November 4th. 
This year these men enlisted for three years or during the 
war into the regiments of Colonel Joseph Cille^', Colonel 
George Reid or Colonel Alexander Scammel, of the Conti- 
nental Line : 
John Alexander, Richard Richardson, 

Thomas Alexander, Thomas Scott, 

Robert Cunningham, John Swan, 

Jeremiah Fairfield, John Taggart, 

William Graham, Jonathan AYheelock, Jr., 

Joseph Henderson, Samuel Wier. 

Samuel Lee, Titus Wilson, 

David Smiley, in Captain Nath'l Gage's Company of 
Colonel Jacob Gerrish's (Mass.) regiment. 

There also enlisted into Colonel Henry Jackson's (Mass.) 
regiment of the Continental Line, this 3'ear, and for the same 
period, the following Peterborough men : 

Benjamin Allds, Timothy Mixter, 

John Blair (2d), David Scott, 

Joseph Babbe, John Scott, 

John Kanady, James Stanford, 

Randall McAllister, John Swan, 

Samuel Mitchell, James Taggart. 



Campaigns of 1777-1781. 119 

In the battles of this 3'ear, Major Scott and James Hack- 
ley were wounded, John Taggart was killed, and Titus Wil- 
son died of disease or wounds. Of the men in the militia, 
John Robbe and Jeremiah Smith were wounded. In 1777 
the town furnished for the three years' regiments twenty-six 
men, and for the militia eighty-nine. Of the men in the 
militia, seventeen served two enlistments ; three, three enlist- 
ments, and one, four. 

Nine of the men entering the Continental Line had served 
one enlistment in the militia, making a total of eighty 
different men in the service in 1777. Many of these did not 
serve to the credit of Peterborough, but all were either resi- 
dents of the town, or during the war served at least one 
term, longer or shorter, on her quota of men. 

The prisoners taken at Bennington were marched to 
Boston, and later, those at the final capitulation of Bur- 
goyne, also. The officers in course of a year were paroled 
but the men were kept at Cambridge and in neighboring 
towns through the winter, and in the following summer were 
sent to Virginia. But all did not go, and it is apparent 
from the town records that some of the prisoners were quar- 
tered in Peterborough for some years. 

At a town meeting held on April 13, 1780, was an article 
in the warrant: 

"To see what method the town will take in regard to 
Eating those men in this town belonging to General Bur- 
goyne's Convention — " * 

and it was voted : *'The men belonging to General Burgoyne's 
Convention Residing in this town Be Taxed." 

The records make no further allusion to the subject and 
no traditions survive as to how many of Burgoyne's men 
there were, how long they remained in town, their names, 
nor what became of them. 

1778. 
In 1778 the attention of the State was directed to Rhode 

* Town records, vol. i, p. 59. 



120 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

Island, where, at Newport, the British had established and 
fortified themselves. Their intent was to use the position 
as a base for operations against Boston, and their presence 
excited grave apprehensions in the New England States. As 
early as June 24, 1777, the Assembly had voted to raise 
three hundred men toward a force to dislodge them. Again 
in January, 1778, orders were given to recruit four com- 
panies for the same purpose. The Committee of Safety, on 
February 13th, voted one hundred more men, and on Maj 
24th a draft for three hundred additional was ordered. The 
men were to serve until January 1st, 1779. In addition the 
State furnished a brigade of five regiments, all volunteers. 
These regiments were under the command of Colonel Moses 
Nichols, with nine companies; Colonel Enoch Hale, with 
four ; Colonel Moses KeUey, with seven ; Colonel Jacob Gale, 
with five, and Colonel Joshua Wingate with three companies 
each. Besides these there was a company of light horse 
under command of Captain John Langdon. General William 
Whipple commanded the brigade, and the force was designed 
to co-operate with the French fleet in an effort to drive the 
British from Rhode Island. The rolls do not describe the 
regiments as cavalry organizations, but each man had a 
horse probably for transportation, and was allowed ten 
pounds for its use. Soldiers were paid £5, Corporals £5 5s 
and Sergeants £5 10s per month, with 8f/ per mile for travel. 
In Colonel Hale's regiment was a company of men in 
part from the town, commanded by Captain Samuel Cun- 
ningham. These are the I'eterborough names : 

Samuel Cunningham - - Captain, 
W^illiam McNee - - - Sergeant, 
Charles Stuart - - - - " 
Charles White - - - Corporal. 
Privates : 

John Blair, Samuel Houston, 

Samuel Caldwell, Charles McCoy, 

James Cunningham, Thomas Smith, 

Adam Gregg, Isaiali Taylor, 

John Grey, John Morison, 



Campaigns of 1777-1781. 121 

William McCoy, David \Miite, 

Joseph Miller, James White, 

Michael Woodcock. 

In Colonel Jacob Gale's regiment was : 
John Graham, in Captain James Gilman's Company. 
One of the regiments, under an earlier call for this 
service, was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Pea- 
body. In this command was: 

Dr. John Young, Surgeon of the regiment. 

In Colonel Johnsons Mass. regiment was David Smiley. 

Captain Cunningham's Company consisted of one Lieu- 
tenant, three Sergeants, three Corporals, one filer and forty- 
two privates, and was in service twenty-one days. 

Congress continued its efforts to fill the eighty-eight 
battalions voted in 1776, and the State had not yet furnished 
its quota. The men enlisting into the Continental Service 
this year were : 

William Blair, Abiel Parker, 

William Ducannon, John Scott, 

George McClourg, William Scott, 

Abel Parker, Samuel Spear. 

Blair, McClourg, William Scott and the two Parkers 
were nine months' men, and served in Massachusetts regi- 
ments. The others enlisted for three years into the Xew 
Hampshire regiments of the Continental Line. The town 
furnished this year thirty men for the service. 

1779. 
The only service of the militia this year was in Khode 
Island, for which the State voted to raise three hundred 
men. A bounty of thirty pounds was offered, and 2* per 
mile for travel. In the regiment of Colonel Hercules 
Mooney were Charles Davidson and John White, Jr., both 
in Captain Ephraim Stone's Company; and Timothy Locke 
in Major Daniel Reynolds's Company. The men were in 
service six months. 



122 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

The town also furnished two men for the Continental 
army. Congress had decided to raise sixteen additional 
battalions of three years' men. 

In its etforts to fill up the New Hampshire quota of the 
Continental Line, the Assembly, on November 8, appointed 
a committee to go to headquarters and re-enlist as many of 
the men whose terms were about expiring as possible. The 
Committee were empowered to offer a bounty, beside the 
Continental bounty, not exceeding one hundred acres of land 
in this State, or such a sum of money as might be given in 
like cases by Massachusetts and other States, and that men 
re-enlisting for the war should have their depreciation of 
money made up to them as those already enlisted were en- 
titled to be paid under a previous act.* 

fA mouth later, the Legislature offered a bounty of three 
hundred dollars, to settle accounts with the men yearly and 
give security for all balances, to exempt both officers and 
men from poll taxes, and their real and personal estate from 
taxes levied to raise money for paying soldiers. The Legis- 
lature also voted that the State's men in the Continental 
Line should be allowed for depreciation of money for service 
in 1777, two for one; in 1778, six for one; and for 1779, 
twenty for one. 

Congress also voted a bounty of £60 for each enlisted 
soldier. 

The men furnished were:$ 

Zaccheus Brooks, John Miller. 

When this call to fill the sixteen new battalions was 
issued, the usual draft was made upon the town for its pro- 
portion of men. It does not appear how many were assigned 
as the quota of Peterborough, but a controversy at once 
arose as to whether the town's proportion was not already 
more than full. The matter was taken up by the Captain 
of the Militia Company of Peterborough and by the Select- 

* State papers, vol. vm, 835. 

t State papers, vol. vni, pp. 843 and 843. 

% The companies and regiments in which they served are not given. 



Campaigns of 1777-1781. 123 

men, which resulted in drawing up and sending to the Com- 
mittee of Safety the following statement : 

"To the Hon^^^ Committee of Safety for the State of Netv 

Hampshire: 
May it Please Your Honi"^^! 

Whereas by Resolution of Congress Dated the 15th of 
March A. D. 1779, Ordering returnes to be made of all Offi- 
cers & Soldiers inlisted into the 16 Additional Battalions 
and Whereas this Town hath in the Service of the United 
States [and inlisted for three Years and During the Warr] 
Twenty-four Men And Upward which is Ten More than Our 
Proportion of the 88 Battalions. Therefore we begg to be 
Credited for those Men and Considered in future, so that we 
may Not At Present be Obliged to make up the Proportion 
of Other Towns who are delinquent. 

"We are & Shall be Ever ready to furnish our Proportions 
& Make Such Allowance to the Men returned for this Town 
as Shall be Ordered Or Thought Equitable. 

^'Permit us to Recommend the Bearer Capt. William 
Scott* to Your Favours and are Gen^ Most Respectfully 
Your most H^ Serv*. 

David Steel, Capt. 

in Behalf of Malitia O^^ 
Samuel Cunningham, 

in Behalf of Select Men. 
Peterborough, July 23^ 1779." 

This was laid before the Committee on July 29th, by 
Captain Scott, as appears by its records of that date.* 

"Capt. William Scott of Peterboro' in this State, belong- 
ing to CoP Henry Jackson's Reg* in the Cont^ Service, ap- 
peared before the Comt*'*' & produced a list of the officers & 
Men belonging to this State who are now serving in s^ Reg*^ ; 
Also, a Resolve of Congress importing that these officers and 
men should be recon'd as a part of the Quota of this State — 
praying for some Relief on ace* of the Depreciation of the 
Currency, etc." 

On the next day, "wrote a letter," so the record runs, "to 

If State papers, vol. xm, p. 181. 

* Capt. Scott of Col. Jackson's regiment. 

* N. H. Hist. Coll., vol. vn, p. 198. 



124 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

Capt. Scott & the men in Col° Jackson's Keg* belong^ to this 
State, desiring them to Continue in the Service, etc."t 

Probably allowance for the men in Colonel Jackson's 
regiment saved the town from a draft under this call. 

David Smiley, in Capt. Webster's Company of Colonel 
Jacob Gerrish's (Mass.) regiment. 
Contributions for the year were six men. 

1780. 

The year opened gloomily for the American Cause. The 
general stagnation of military operations this year was 
due to the utter demoralization of the currency and the 
consequent ruinous condition of the Colonial finances. Be- 
sides, the Continental regiments, never full, had been 
sorely depleted by sickness, desertions, death, and the 
expiration of enlistments, and Congress and General 
Washington made earnest appeals to the States for men and 
provisions for the army. New Hampshire promptly re- 
sponded by voting to raise a regiment of nine hundred and 
forty-five menf to serve three months on the Western Fron- 
tier, i. e. at West Point ; and to furnish six hundred men for 
the Continental army to serve till December 31, 1780.11 The 
latter were by an order addressed to the Colonels of the 
Militia regiments to be raised by draft or otherwise.* The 
regiments to serve at West Point were under the command 
of Colonels Moses Nichols and Thomas Bartlett, and were 
attached to the army of General Benedict Arnold, who 
stationed them at the Robinson House. The men for the 
Continental regiments were "to be paid or made up, when 
their times are out. Forty shillings per month, said money 
to be equal to Indian Corn, at four shillings per bushel, sole 
leather at one shilling and six pence per pound, and grassed 
beef at three pence per pound; and that also when their 
times are out, have, in like money five pounds for finding 
themselves cloaths, blankett and knapsack, and that all 

+ N. H. Hist. Coll. vol. vn, p. 198. 1 State papers, vol. vm, pp. 763, 863. 

t State papers, vol. vm, pp. 865-866. • State papers, vol. vm, pp. 862-863. 



Campaigns of 1777-1781. 125 

those who will engage untill the last day of December, 1781, 
in addition to the foregoing reward shall receive a suit of 
cloaths as those who have enlisted for the War; and those 
who will enlist until the last da}^ of December, 1782, shall 
receive a suit of cloaths annually."! The officers were 
instructed to make up their rolls calculating at the rate of 
sixty-seven to one from the original wages given the Conti- 
nental troops.J 

The men of Colonel Nichols's regiment served until about 
the middle of October, and were : 

Andrew Bailey, in Captain William Barron's Company, 
Thomas Davidson, in Captain Benjamin Spaulding's 

Company, 
Robert Lakin, 

Charles McClourg, " " " " 

Abel Parker, " " " " 

While the men in Colonel Nichols's regiment served 
comparatively a short term their hardships were severe. A 
letter from Colonel Nichols to the President of the Assembly 
thus describes the difficulties they encountered :^ 

"I set out from Amherst on the 13th of July, arrived at 
Springfield on ye 18th, where I was ordered by General 
Stark to halt for further orders; there I remained till ye 
27th, taking care of part of both Reg™*'' as there was no field 
officer on the ground but myself, no forrage for my horses, 
Except one Night : I was oblidged some Nights to pay twenty 
Dollars a piece for my horses — the Dearest hole I was ever 
in. Gen^ Stark to my great joy arrived on the 26 ; the next 
day set out for Great Barrington where but few of our troops 
could be served with bread; — (happy for us General Stark 
took a Drove of Cattle around with us) ; here Colo Bartlett 
overtakes us; Colo. Bartlett and I were oblidged to contract 
witli private Gentlemen for flower to make bread for the 
Rear of New Hampshire men, our expenses had been so great, 
on the road, that it was Impossible we could pay for the 
bread, therefore we convers'd with some soldiers present, for 
them to pay for the bread they draw'd; altho' they were 



t state papers, vol. vin, p. 863. 
t State papers, vol. vm, p. 876. 
1 State papers, vol. vm, p. 869. 



126 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

scarce of money they comply'd Rather than go without; we 
promised the men that the General Court of New Hampshire 
would Refund the money each man paid for bread. I left a 
serg't there to see the men Avere all servM and take an acct. 
who they were that Paid for bread and the No. of pounds; 
part of four companys of my Reg. containing 207 men got 
into Claverick the 17th of July. I did not overtake them till 
I got to Fishkiln, for one Day previous to our arrival, at 
Claverick, they had orders to march, the 3d Augt. I 
went from Fishkiln with Gen^ Stark to Peekskiln to see his 
Excelency Gen^ Washington, where he was then posted, for 
his orders where to go, he ordered me back to W. Point the 
day I arrived there. Quick after about half my Reg* ar- 
rived, the next day the Rear of mine & Col. Bartlett & His 
Regt arrived; this day Gen^ Arnold took the command of 
this Department & makes Robinson's house head-Quarters. 
It is E of the River about two miles down ; the Gen' ordered 
me to march my Reg* over to him which I did on the 10th 
where I now remain. The proditious long march & such hot 
weather causes many of our men to be unfit for duty. T 
have a dozen in the Hospital & I believe upward of 30 in a 
low state, among them two Capt*'; my fatigue till now has 
been very great x x x x. The Gen' tells me it is very un- 
certain whether officers or privates will draw any money for 
Rations etc., to carry us home ; if w^e Don't I know not how 
we shall ^et home when our times are out; those that are at 
home Can't possibly conceive the expense we are at — beg 
that some money may be sent forward if possible before our 
times are out to bring us home." 

The men for the Continental army were ordered to be 
drafted, and those refusing to serve were to pay five hundred 
dollars in lieu of service.! Their pay was to be the same 
as those of the other regiments. Those enlisting for six 
months were:* 

Solomon Dodge, Thomas Green, 

Jeremiah Fairfield, Timothy Locke, 

Amos Spofiford. 
In Major T\niitcomb's command, serving on the Western 
Frontier, were: 

t See Acts of June 16, 1780. 

* Companies not given in rolls. See vol. xvi, pp. 70-89 



Campaigns of 1777-1781. 127 

Joseph Coville and Thomas Williams ; their terras of en- 
listment were six months. 

Jonathan Wheelock, Jr., Lieut Jackson's Artillery Co. 
(Mass.). Enlisted for Townsend. Term was six 
months. 

David Smiley, in Captain Ayer's Co., Colonel Nathaniel 

Wade's (Mass.) Kegiment. 
In 1780 the town furnished fourteen men for the army. 

1781. 

In establishing the army for 1781, Congress assigned to 
New Hampshire, as its quota, 1354 men ; the men already in 
service and enlisted for three years or during the war were 
to be reckoned as part of the number required. On January 
12th the Legislature apportioned to each town the number 
it was to furnish. Each town was to fill its quota from its 
own citizens (a provision afterward repealed) except that 
men might be hired from other towns whose quotas were full. 
A bounty of £20 was voted to each man accepted, the money 
to be paid in four years from date of enlistment with six 
percent interest. 

The men entering the service under this call were : 

John Barlow, James Moore, 

Robert Cunningham, Samuel Robbe, Corporal. 

Timothy Locke, Amos Spoflford, 

They were all three years' men. 

On a muster roll in the United States Pension Office, 
Samuel Robbe, James Gordin and Thomas Williams are 
represented as privates in Captain Othniel Thomas's Com- 
pany of Colonel Reynolds's regiment,* raised for service at 
West Point this year. 

But in claims of Town of Stoddard, Robbe is represented 
as a three years' man, enlisting Juh^ 20, 1781.t 

On July 4, 1781,^ the Legislature voted to raise a regi- 
ment of six hundred and fifty men to reinforce the army at 

* state papers, vol. xvn, p. 428. 
t State papers, vol. xvi, p. 840. 
1 See Acts of July 4, 1781. 



128 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

West Point whenever called for by General Washington. 
Daniel Reynolds was appointed Lieutenant Colonel com- 
manding. The men, mustered October 4, 1781, were to serve 
until the last day of December, 1781, but were actually dis- 
charged December 20th and 21st, and were: 
Luther Adams, John Burns. 

Benjamin Allds, John Stroud, 

Jacob Baldwin, Michael Woodcock, 

In Colonel Bell's regiment of three months' men was: 

James Gregg of Londonderry, 
In June, Congress consolidated the three New Hampshire 
regiments into two. Colonel Joseph Cilley retired from 
service, and most of his men were transferred to the regi- 
ment of Colonel Alexander Scammel. 

In 1781 the town recruited sixteen men for the service. 

1782. 
The Revolutionary rolls give very little information of 
enlistments after 1781. The Legislature voted to raise two 
companies of fifty men each, for defence of the Western 
Fontier, and probably voted other companies or regiments 
also, but no rolls of the men raised this year have been 
found. Indirectly it appears that John Robbe, claimed by 
Stoddard, entered the army in July.J Just how many 
men Peterborough furnished in 1782 cannot be determined. 
At the end of December, 1782, the town had the following 
men in service:! 

John Barlow, James Moore ( ?), 

Robert Cunningham, Jeduthen Roberts, 

James Hackley, Michael Silk, 

Timothy Locke, Amos Spofford. 

John ^Nfathews, 
In Colonel Vose's (Mass.) Regiment, Captain Hunt's 
Company, was: 

John Graham. 
There were, also. Major William Scott, Captain William 

t State papers, vol. xvi, p. 840. 
t See Kidder's History, p. 165. 



Campaigns of 1777-1781. 129 

Scott (in the nav}^), and David Scott, who died this year. 
John, son of Major William Scott, and John, son of Captain 
William, were also in the army, making sixteen in all. 

The rolls do not have full reports of losses of casualties 
in the service. The record herewith given is all that can be 
ascertained from them. 

Killed or Died of Disease. 

Joseph Taylor, August 12, 1775, from wounds. 

James Richey, Jan. 12, 1776, from disease. 

John Taggart, July 7, 1777, killed at Mount Independence. 

Titus Wilson, July 7, 1777, died of disease or wounds. 

Samuel Lee (about) March 28, 1778, died of disease. 

David Scott, October 6, 1782, died of disease. 

Ephraim Stevens (date unknown), probably 1781 or 1782, 

died of disease. 
Thomas Sanderson, died probably in July, 1777, from disease. 

Wounded. 

Lieutenant (Captain) William Scott, June 17, 1775. 

Randall McAllister, June 17, 1775. 

John Graham, June 17, 1775. 

David Scott, June 17, 1775. 

Thomas Greene, June 17, 1775. 

George McClourg, June 17, 1775. 

Jeremiah Smith, August 16, 1777. 

John Robbe, August 16, 1777. 

Major William Scott Sept. 19, 1777. 

James Hackley, Sept. 19, 1777. 

Samuel Wier,"Sept. 19, 1777, or Oct. 7, 1777. 

Amos Spofford, 1781 ( ?). 

Total killed or died of disease, 8 ; wounded, 12. 



10 



CHAPTER VI. 



EVILS OP THE CURRENCY. 



At the beginning of the war the money in circulation was 
chiefly English, with a liberal mixture of the coins of other 
nations, of which the Spanish formed the largest portion. 
The Colonies had built up a large trade with the West 
Indies and other countries to the South and had also some 
commerce with France, Spain, Holland and other European 
nations. The money of these countries circulated freeh' and 
had a fixed ratio to the different denominations of English 
currency. In years previous to 1775 some of the Colonies, 
New Hampshire among the rest, had from time to time put 
forth paper money. But all New Hampshire issues had 
cither been redeemed or withdrawn before the War for Inde- 
pendence opened. 

With the beginning of the struggle, trade with Great 
Britain nearly ceased for a time, but during the last years, 
somewhat revived. It was then carried on indirectly with 
England through the free ports in the West Indies. Many 
English prizes were brought into the country, captured by 
American privateers on the high seas, through which Eng- 
lish goods in considerable quantities, and much coin, were 
distributed among the people. There was, also, some trade 
with continental countries directly, and i)articnlar]y with 
the islands and countries in and about the Carribean Sea. 
In such eases the money of the country followed the ^oods 
of that country. One fact Great Britain utterly failed to 
grasp in her conduct of the war, and that was the supreme 
importance of an effectual blockade of the American sea 
ports. She had the navy and could have done it. So long 



Evils of the Currency. 131 

as the one she feebly attempted to maintain was weak, 
foreign goods and foreign money came into the country, 
though in diminished quantities, but still enough to ma- 
terially aid the Colonies in their struggle. Had the blockade 
been effective, as England could have made it, the final out- 
come of the contest must have been otherwise than what it 
was. 

But the money in circulation was not sufficient to carry 
on a great war, and New Hamjjshire, as it had done in the 
wars of 1744 and 1755, fell back upon issues of paper cur- 
rency. It was also resorted to by the other New England 
States, and in a large measure by Congress. The currency 
issued by Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts had 
free circulation in New Hampshire, and of the Cogressional 
issues the State had its share of what was divided among 
the Colonies. The inevitable resulted; and when later in the 
war the price of currency went down until it had practically 
no value, untold suffering and hardship, confusion and dis- 
tress resulted among all classes, citizens and soldiers alike. 

The policy was initiated by the Fourth Provincial Con- 
gress which on June 9, 1775,1[^ ordered the Receiver Gen- 
eral to give his notes for £10,050, redeemable £2000, Decem- 
20, 1776; £3000 on December 20, 1777, and £3050 on Decem- 
ber 20, 1778. The first £2000 was to bear interest at six per 
cent., and the whole was redeemable from the polls and 
estates. On the 0th of July following, £10,000 were issued, 
of which £8000 was to carry interest, to be redeemed at the 
same time and from the same source as the first issue,* ex- 
cept that the last £2000 did not become due until December 
20, 1779. The interest on the £8000 was afterward recon- 
sJdered.f Again, on November 1st the Provincial Congress 
voted to issue £20,000 additional currency, of which £4000 
was redeemable December 20, 1779; £0000 on each 20th of 
December in 1780 and 1781, and £4000, December 20, 1782.$ 

" State papers, vol. vn, p. 510. * State papers, vol. vn, p. 550. 

t State papers, vol. vn, p. 575. i State pai)ers, vol. vn, p. 638. 



132 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

January 26, 1776, the State Assembly authorized the 
issue of £20,008 16s ;TI on June 17th, £3100;** on July 5th, 
£20,100.tt The last was to be redeemed on the 26th days 
of January, 1789, 1790, 1791 and 1792, £5000 each year save 
the last, when the balance, £5160, was to be redeemed. In 
January, 1777, £30,000 in notes, to pay bounties to Conti- 
nental soldiers, were issued. In September of the same year 
all paper currency was called in and the Treasurer was 
ordered to issue his notes on the "Faith and Credit" of New 
Hampshire in redemption thereof.* Six months later 
another issue of £10,000 was voted, to be in the form of 
notes carrying interest, and payable four years from date.f 
After 1777 the State did not issue currency, but did issue 
notes, and so continued up to the end of the war. The 
soldiers, after 1777, were paid in these paper promises. 
The whole amount of notes and currency put out was never 
accurately computed, but the total issued by the States and 
Congress has been estimated at about $150,000,000, of which 
Congress issued $241,000,000, part of which was divided 
among the States. 

With a population in the State of less than seventy 
thousand in 1775, such an abundance of promises unsettled 
everything, and the action of the Assembly added confusion 
to the financial chaos already existing. In July (3d) 1781, 
the General Assembly enacted that all contracts incurred or 
made prior to January 31, 1777, should be considered as 
made in silver and gold, J and that all contracts "for paper 
money from the last day of January, 1777, to the last day of 
June, 1781, should be computed according to the following 
table."$J After this, currency ceased to circulate except for 
purposes of speculation; $500 and $1000 selling for one 
dollar in gold. The State Assembly tried to prevent the 
depreciation, and on September 26, 1777, passed a statute 

1 state papers, vol, vm, p. 60. f State papers, vol. vm, p. 779. 

** State papers, vol. vm, p. 169. J State papers, vol. vm, p. 907. 

+t State papers, vol. vm, p. 190. ^X For table, see pages 137, 138. 

» State papers, vol. vm, p. 691. 

■ 



Evils of the Currency. 133 

forbidding "the pernicious practice of selling Goods, wares, 
merchandise and Provisions or any other commodities for 
Gold & silver when the Paper currency of the United States 
of America or of this State shall be offered therefor & denied 
acceptance, and also tlie exchanging a larger sum in Paper 
money for a lesser sum in gold and silver."|$ Congress 
also attempted in vain to stem the tide, and in March, 1780, 
declared the ratio of depreciation to be in the rate of forty 
to one; and in the following year the law making the Conti- 
nental Currency a legal tender for debts was repealed; all 
securities given since the beginning of the war, or to be given 
in future, were made payable in specie; and the judgments 
of Courts and executions issued thereon were also made 
payable in specie. But it was of no avail, for the decline 
continued and paper currency became worthless. 

The result was financial anarchy, which bred confusion, 
uncertainty, controversy and anger, as well as heavy loss. 
Prices mounted skyward. Samuel Adams paid |2000 for a 
coat and hat, and tea, upon w'hich the Colonists had refused 
to pay a duty of 3d per pound, sold for $90 a pound. In 
Boston corn brought |15 a bushel, butter |12 a pound, beef 
|10 per pound, corn |100 a bushel and flour |1575 per barrel. 
People in those times, being farmers or small mechanics, had 
little money and business was done on credit. In very few 
transactions, comparatively, was cash paid on the spot either 
for labor, goods or land purchased. The buyer gave his 
note, and the notes, varying for sums from one dollar up- 
ward, remained long unpaid, owing to the general poverty. 
Contracts made prior to January 31, 1777, were reckoned on 
a silver basis. When currency came into circulation natur- 
ally the debtor wanted to settle in paper money, and as 
naturally the creditor objected. After 177G the value of 
currency day by day went down, and one would not know 
what a paper dollar of today would be worth tomorrow, 



tt State papers, vol. vm, p. 696. 
* State papers, vol. vm. p. 905. 



134 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

only that it would be worth less; so that a creditor, unless 
the transaction was cash, could never tell what he would 
receive for his labor or goods sold. The outcome was heavy 
individual loss and often bankruptcy. Late in 1776, Cap- 
tain William Scott came home on furlough, sold his farm 
and took a note in payment. When the note was paid he 
did not realize enough on it to pay for a horsef and he was 
thus stripped of all his property. As the value of currency de- 
preciated, the worth of accounts and debts declined, and so 
distress and discouragement increased. The frequent calls 
for men and supplies for the army, coming seemingly more 
and more often, added to the grievous burdens the people 
were bearing until the load became almost intolerable. The 
only allusion to this condition, even indirectly, upon the 
Town Records, is in 1780, when the town voted to pay £1 i)er 
hour to men for labor on the highway, and fifteen shillings 
for a pair of oxen. It is to be deeply regretted that the 
appropriation of the town during tliese years, and the tax 
rate, are not recorded. But the people felt the pressure and 
suffered the losses incident to the economic conditions the 
same as did those of the other towns of the State. 

Hard as the situation was upon the people, it was equally 
hard upon the men in the field, and they complained loudly 
and bitterl3^ The soldiers in the Continental Line, a ma- 
jority at least, had entered service when currency was at par 
with silver, and their wages had been fixed upon a basis of 
equality of value. But as the gulf between the two widened 
sharp dissatisfaction arose. The feelings of the men are 
frankly and pathetically stated in the petition here given, 
of the officers in the New Hampshire regiments of the line, 
addressed to the State Asembly in 1779. Among the signa- 
tures to it are those of Major William Scott and Lieutenant 
Josiah Munroe, both in the list of Peterborough soldiers:* 

+ See sketch of Capt. William Scott, infra. 
* State papers, vol xvi, p. 49. 



Evils of the Currency. 135 

''To the Honourable General Assernbly of the State of New 
HampsJiire, 

"The humble Petition and Representation of the Sub- 
scribers Officers in the Continental Line of the Army in 
behalf of themselves and Soldiers under their Command, — 
Sheweth — • 

"That most of them have Families which they left with 
their Friends in the Country, and in Defence of their Rights 
have exposed themselves to the Hazard and Fatigue of a 
Milatary Life in Neglect of their Families to whom they 
could not pay that Attention which those near Connections 
demanded, their Situation rendering a personal Discharge 
of those Duties impossible — That they have patiently en- 
dured the Loss of Domestic Happiness and the Pleasures of 
social Life neglecting their own private Interest in Expec- 
tation and fervent Hope the Period would soon arrive when 
that Peace Liberty and Safety the best Inheritance of our 
Children, would be transmitted and secured to Generations 
yet unborn — With these Views they have endured Losses, 
Sickness and every Species of Hardship with some degree 
of Patience, and as they have invariably desired so they 
most ardently wish to consider themselves as part of the free 
Citizens of a free Country and not as a separate People with 
separate and clashing Interests which hereafter may become 
the Source of Contention more detremental to our Rights 
than the present Usurpation of the british Parliament — to 
this Assembly therefore, the Guardian of our Liberties 
would we look up for Relief, in whose Justice and Humanity 
we fully confide — We have, may it Please your Honours, 
had publick Assurances we should receive a Reward ade- 
quate to our Services; this Reward is fixed and determined 
— we ask not for an Enlargement, being willing to bear the 
Burtlien & share Misfortunes and public Losses with our 
Brethren ; but with great Concern we observe that for more 
than twelve Months last past our Brethren have departed 
from that Line of virtuous Conduct which before guided 
their Actions, and we find ourselves injured insuperably so 
without your Honours Interposition — Our I'ay once liberal 
is become of little Value our Families starving, our Money 
refused and publick Supplies denied our Families; when we 
find Gentlemen of Rank in the United States publickly re- 
fusing the Currency of the Continent, and all Ranks of 
People who would be thought virtuous honest and religious 



136 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

openlj fixing a Depreciation and avowing the Right of Sell- 
ing Six for one compared with Silver Money, and secretly 
promoting a further Depreciation — We are alarmed Justly 
and greatly alarmed — Many of us disposed of our Interest 
for Paper Money at a low Rate to enter the Service free 
from Embarrassment, this is expended on our Families, or 
if not, of little Value — To be compelled to sacrifice our all, 
beggar our Families, ruin our Constitutions, and hasten old 
Age upon ourselves without Prospects of future Support or 
some Assurances of Satisfaction for our past Losses by the 
Depreciation of the Currency, and the publick Assurance 
of its future Credit are sacrifices too great for us to make — 

''To beg we are ashamed — to steal Honor and Virtue 
forbid — we therefore think it our Duty to present this 
Memorial to 3'our Consideration, begging our Fears maA' be 
calmed by some publick Act of yours in which we will con- 
fide, — that we may be assured the Assembly' will make good 
our past Wages depreciated in Value, — That some effectual 
Measure be taken to supply our Familes with the Neces- 
saries of Life and that the Unmarried be entitled to similar 
Benefits — 

"We most sincerely assure your Honours — we still have 
the greatest Attachment to the Cause of the Country, and 
are still willing to remain in our present Services — before 
Independancy was declared we looked on ourselves bound 
by the natural Law of self Preservation to militate with our 
Enemies at the Expense of our l*rivate Interest and every 
Enjoyment, but since the Declaration and its Confirmation 
by our Allies, a Military Life ought to become an Occupation 
worthy of Attention & we should stand morally condemned 
any longer to pursue a War almost finished in Neglect of 
Ourselves and those dear Connections God has given us, and 
feed on Promises and Anticipation — Honor Ambition Love 
for the best of Men our Commander-in-Chief and consequently 
our Country have hitherto contented us — but Poverty' will 
soon reduce to the doleful Alternative of a disgraceful Ap- 
pearance of forsaking him without your Interposition. 

"Altlio' we have the highest Veneration for Congress and 
a personal Attachment to such Members as we know and 
have addressed them on the Subject, yet the Object of their 
Concern is so great that they are unable to extend their 
Beneficence to every Part of the Anm' so as to give season- 
able Relief. 



Evils of the Currency. 137 

"We beg Leave to assure your Honours we bear on our 
Minds the most grateful Sense of the supplies sent us by the 
Board of War, asking for a Continuance with full Confidence 
that the Equity, which will distinguish the United States 
will finally be manifest in doing equal Justice to every 
State." 

This memorial was signed by forty-two New Hampshire 
oflficers of the Continental Line.* 

The Assembly heeeded the cry, and on April 27, 1780, 
established the following rates of depreciation for making 
up the pay of the soldiers to January 1, 1780. Articles, the 
price of which was stipulated in 1777, were to be charged at 
the prices then fixed; "and the wages received from the 
Continent, for which they are to be charged for the one-half 
part in 1777, one-sixth part in 1778, and one-twentieth part 
in 1779, equal to good money."t 

TABLE. 





Year 1777 






Year 1778 






Year 1779 




Silver Currency 


Silver 


Currency 


Silver 


Currency 


January 


£100. is 


£100. 


£31. 


0. 


0.=:£100. 


£9. 


13. 


0.=£100. 


February 


91. 




28. 


0. 


0. " 




8. 


15. 


0. ' 




March 


82. 10. 0. " 




25. 


10. 


0. " 




8. 


0. 


0. ' 




April 


74. 15. 0. " 




23. 


5. 


" 




7. 


5. 


0. ' 




May 


68. 




21. 




li 




6. 


11. 


0. ' 




June 


61. 10. 0. " 




19. 


0. 


0. " 




5. 


19. 


0- ' 




July 


55. 15. 0. " 




17. 


5. 


0. " 




5. 


8. 


0. ' 


(( 


August 


50. 10. 0. " 




15. 


15. 


" 




4. 


19. 


0. ' 




September 


45. 15. 0. " 




14. 


5. 


0. " 




4. 


10. 


0. ' 


u 


October 


41. 15. 0. " 




13. 


0. 


0. " 




4. 


1. 


0. ' 




November 


38. 




11. 


15. 


0. " 




3. 


13. 


0. ' 




December 


34. 10. 0. " 




10. 


15. 


0. " 




3. 


G. 


0. " " 




£744. 0. 0. 




£230. 


10. 


0. 




£72. 


0. 


0. 





When it came to adjusting the depreciation for service in 
1780 by act of July 3, 1781, the Assembly made a different 
scale. The discrepancy for the first three years is accounted 
for by the fact that during 1780 the value of currency had 
depreciated still further and this required a re-adjustment. 

» State papers, vol. xvi, p. 49. 
t State papers, vol. vm, p. 858. 



138 



Peterborough in the Revolution. 



TABLE OF 1781.* 





17 


77 


1778 


1779 


1780 


1781 




Silver-Paper 


Silver-Paper 


Silver-Paper 


Silver-Paper 


Silver-Paper 


January 






£100 £325 


£100 


£742 


£100 


£2934 


£100 £7500 


February 


£100 


£104 


100 350 


100 


868 


100 


3322 


100 7500 


March 


" 


106 


" 375 




1000 


ti 


3736 


7500 


April 


" 


110 


" 400 




1104 


<< 


4000 


7500 


May 


" 


114 


" 400 




1215 


(( 


4800 


7500 


June 


(( 


120 


400 




1342 


X 


5700 


7600 


July 


" 


125 


425 




1477 


" 


6000 




August 


(( 


150 


450 




1630 


l( 


6300 




September 


" 


175 


475 




1800 


(1 


6500 




October 


<( 


275 


500 




2030 


" 


6700 




November 


(( 


300 


545 




2308 


1( 


7000 




December 


" 


310 


634 




2393 


(( 


7300 





In 1782 this act was repealed, and for service in 1780 
and 1781 the soldiers' balances were to be settled with notes, 
to bear interest for service in 1780, from January 1, 1781; 
and for service in 1781, from January 1, 1782.t 

Such wholesale issues of paper currency were alone 
sufficient to cause the depreciation which ensued. But the 
decline in value was hastened by another incident accom- 
panying it. The question of finance in any Avar is quite as 
important as that of men, for when credit is good and the 
money in circulation passes at par, or nearly so, a nation 
can keep its men in the field. The officers of the British army 
quickly recognized this weak spot in the Colonial economic 
situation, and when the States and Congress began the 
issues of currency, the enemy set about impairing public 
confidence in its value by systematic and extensive counter- 
feiting. In this nefarious business they w^ere actively aided 
by the Tories, some of whom were to be found in almost 
every town throughout the thirteen States. Large quanti- 
ties of the counterfeit bills were made in England and sent 
to the British army in and about New York City, which was 
the headquarters of the work of distribution, and from 
which the principal supply was drawn. There was a line 
of Tory posts, beginning at Londonderry, New Hamp- 
shire, as one terminus, and running thence down 

* State papers, vol. vm, p. 907. 
t State papers, vol. vm, p. 937. 



Evils of the Currency. 130 

through Hollis, Groton, Mass., tlience to Shrewsbury, $ 
Mass., on to Newlaue, Vt., aud from there down the 
Hudson to New York.* Starting from Londonderry the 
Tories would travel by this route to headquarters, re- 
ceive their supply either of spurious bills or counterfeiting 
tools, and returning over the same route distribute 
judiciously their goods to trusty friends along the way, 
and make Londonderry the centre of delivery for what 
they had brought. Governor Wentworth, while with the 
army in New York, openly aided and actively assisted in 
carrying on the traffic. A large amount of counterfeit 
money was thus put in circulation. The officers of Eur- 
goyne's army entered zealously into the business, and had 
the co-operation and help of the Tories in the New Hamp- 
shire Grants and Northern New York. It was not so much 
a hope of gain nor a criminal disposition that the Tories 
embarked in the enterprise; it was one of the weapons by 
which they hoped to crush the military spirit and power of 
resistance of the Colonies. They were not successful in their 
ultimate aim, still it did tend to undermine public confidence 
in the currency, and added to the burdens under which the 
peoi)le staggered. Nor was this all. The issue ordered by 
the State, of January 9, 177G, was printed by one Robert 
Fowle. While so engaged, and unknown to the (Com- 
mittee of Safety, he struck off, in addition to the amount 
ordered, a large quantity of bills for himself and Tory 
friends, who put them into circulation. Bearing the same 
signatures and in all other respects like the legal notes, 
detection was impossible, and the State was flooded with 
them. The notes were so plenty that at last suspicion was 
aroused and the issue was called in and another ordered. 

X The tory station in Shrewsbury was a hotel, the site of which is now within 
the limits of the town of Boylston. It was kept by one Jotham Bush. Hush was 
an active tory, and was afterwards indicted for uttering large sums of counterfeit 
money. He fled the state. It is a tradition in Boylston that he died on a voyage 
to Nova Scotia, but relatives have claimed that he died of small-pox in Boston Har- 
bor and was buried in the old Grannary burying ground in Boston, where it is 
claimed a stone marks his grave. 

* Continental Journal and Weekly Advertiser (Boston), Oct. 9, 1777, 



140 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

Fowie's Tory svinpathies were not suspected when the work 
was given him. But he was never given opportunity to print 
any more currency. 

The Colonies well understood this general purpose, and 
met it as best they could. Statute after statute was passed 
levelled at counterfeiting, and the penalties, from time to 
time, were heavily increased. Local Committees were 
spurred to watchfulness, and were swift to report all per- 
sons suspected of holding or circulating the counterfeits, or 
aiding in their manufacture. But the currency bills were 
easily imitated, and British sympathizers too numerous and 
widespread to make suppression possible. Their conduct 
added to the irritation of the loyal people, and explains in 
part the bitterness and hate with which the Tories were 
treated during the War. In March, 1780, Congress tried a 
new plan. It called upon the States to pay into the National 
Treasury, |15,000,000 per month. Forty dollars of the 
Continental currency were to be equal to one dollar in silver, 
and all former issues were to be gathered in and destroyed. 
The new bills were to be issued on the funds of the individual 
States, and guaranteed by the whole country. Each State 
was to share in the new issue in proportion to its national tax, 
and its share was to be placed in a loan oflSce, from which it 
could be drawn for circulation in the proportion of twenty 
dollars of the old tenor for one of the new. New Hampshire 
had its portion of these new bills, which were called the 
''new emission." This new issue was not cordially received, 
and before the end of 1781, the bills had declined so that it 
took four dollars of the new to equal one in silver. The 
triumph at Yorktown checked further decline, however, and 
in 1786 the new emission was redeemed. 

The notes isued by New Hampshire after 1775 were never 
fully redeemed until 1704, when the Legislature passed an 
act for the redemption of all issue of paper money. All 
State notes and orders were to be redeemed at the rate of 
fifteen shillings for a pound, bills of the "new emission" at 
the rate of four shillings for one pound, and all copper plate 



Evils of the Currency. 141 

notes, and any other bills issued by the State, in the ratio 
of five shillings for one hundred dollars. The law was 
promptly carried into efifect, and the war currency, with all 
its attendant evils, came to an end. Potter's History, Man- 
chester, 485-7. 

While this wholesale counterfeiting of paper currency 
wrought such injurj^ the cause of the collapse was that its 
issue was in defiance of an economic law which is more 
powerful than individuals or States. The Colonies in an 
eight years' war could defeat the most powerful military 
nation in Europe, but they were helpless against that rule 
of safe finance in violation of which it was issued, to which 
law no exception is ever sustained. 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL SITUATION, 1775-1783. 

''Human History," says Ferrero, ''like all other phe- 
nomena of life and motion, is the unconscious product of an 
infinity of small and unconscious efforts. Its work is done 
spasmodically and in disorder by single individuals or 
groups of individuals acting generally from immediate 
motives; and the province of the historian," he says, "is to 
find the clue to the immediate and transitory motives which 
have pricked on the men of the past to their labors; to de- 
scribe their vicissitudes and anxieties, their struggles and 
illusions as they pursued their work; and why through this 
Vv'ork the men of one generation have often effected some 
lasting transformation in the life of their society." 

The social habits of the people, their amusements, and 
opinions,their industrial condition, their wealth and poverty, 
the problems they had to face, and their way of meeting 
them, are a part of the history of Peterborough between 
1775 and 1783. 

In Chapters VI and VIII of his history of the town, Dr. 
Smith has described at some length the amusements and 
social life of the people, and in a general way, their economic 
circumstances. The narrative relates to the year preceding 
1775, still it applies to the period of the war, except as their 
industrial and economic situation was modified by the exi- 
gencies of military events. Economic conditions are always 
radically affected by the distress and sacrifices necessary to 
sustain a long and hard-contested military struggle; but 
otherwise the life of the people, their social customs and 



The Social and Industrial Situation, 1775-1783. 143 

habits, are little changed, and so it was in the Revolutionary 
War. 

Any account of the burdens borne by the people of Peter- 
borough during the war for independence must be considered 
in the light of certain facts of their situation. When the 
struggle began the town had been settled only twenty-six 
years. 

The industries have already been described. The people 
were poor — land poor — and had no surplus capital to draw 
upon. Their Whole time and effort had been given to 
clearing the forests, the construction of their first rude 
dwellings, and supplying themselves with the implements of 
husbandry and furnishings for their houses. The cultiva- 
tion of flax, and its manufacture into thread and cloth, all 
done by hand, were the only industries which brought re- 
turns in money. The product was marketed in Portsmouth 
and Boston, both towns sixty miles away, the roads to which 
were hardly more than passable. It was carried to market 
on horseback, and if goods were received in payment they 
were brought back by the same conveyance. The houses 
were furnished with the bare necessities of comfort and con- 
venience, made in the little shops of the town. The farms 
produced the food, fuel, medicines and clothing, and all ma- 
terials for their buildings, tools and furniture excepting 
some of the hardware. The store conducted by Major Scott 
was probably kept open, but by whom there is now no infor- 
mation. The settlers were beginning to replace their primi- 
tive houses with frame dwellings, and two of the inhabitants 
— Hugh Wilson and Thomas Morison, had already built 
large, two-story houses. The third two-story house in town 
was erected by William Smith in 1777. There was little 
money in circulation ; there was no surplus labor ; and the 
farmers disposed of their residuum of crops by way of barter, 
taking such things in return as they could use in their 
families and on their lands. 

They were sober and self-restrained in all their habits 
and customs, having familiar knowledge of the small world 



144 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

in which they lived, and were honest, loyal and self-con- 
tained. Custom, experience and reverence for religion and 
civil liberty were their supremest powers of wisdom and 
were held in the highest honor. Their education was 
limited, their speech was blunt and often rude, and their 
manners rough and awkward. Tn habits they were frugal; 
their industry was unceasing, and they were compelled to 
practice the most rigid economy to win a bare living. It was 
under such conditions that the war came. 

The amusements and social habits of the people through 
the eight years continued much as before, though curtailed 
at some periods by the number of men absent in the army. 
They were a homogeneous folk, fond of associating together, 
and felt kesnly the loneliness and isolation of their situation. 
They visited back and forth at each other's houses as in for- 
mer times. The issues and progress of the war and the wel- 
fare of the men in the field were the absorbing topics of 
conversation. But all the while their log rollings, their 
raisings, wrestling matches and huskings, apple parings and 
quiltings went on much as before. The militia trainings, 
held more frequently, were theatres of discussion upon the 
overshadowing questions of the time. That form of co- 
operation they had so often exemplified — of voluntary labor 
for persons in sickness and misfortune, was more frequently 
employed, in behalf of the families whose male members 
were absent with the army. But their church was kept 
open and religious services were regularly maintained> 
After the departure of Rev. John Morrison in 1772, the 
Society was without a permanent minister until 1778, when 
Rev. David Annan was settled. 

In 1774 the town had voted to erect a new church, though 
it was not until 1777, the most trying and critical period of 
the war, that the building was actively begun. It was not 
completed until 1784. All through the war the people clung 
to their church with a steadfast loyalty, supported it, and 
contributed of their time and means toward tlie erection of 
the new edifice to the utmost of their ability. 



The Social and Industrial Situation, 1775-1783. 145 

The actual loss of life to the town caused by the war, 
fortunately, was not large, being but one, or at the most two, 
more than fell on a single day in that disastrous battle of 
March 13, 1758. "VMiile twelve were wounded, none of them, 
except Major Scott, were premanently disabled. But the 
town suffered severely in other ways through the absence of 
men in the service. In 1775 it had a population of one hun- 
dred and twenty-five men over sixteen years of age, including 
the superannuated and those otherwise disqualified for mili- 
tary duty. And yet it had sixty-nine men at Cambridge, the 
most of whom were absent the whole season. This was more 
than one-half of the productive male labor of the town taken 
completely away from the earning power of the people. 
There was hardly a family unrepresented in the army, and 
many had two or three members in the ranks. The absen- 
tees were not surplus population but strong, able-bodied men, 
and were so many Tsithdrawn from the productive ability of 
the inhabitants where all were necessary for a living exist- 
ence. The same was true again in 1777, when the town 
furnished 80 different men for the service. Some of them, it 
is true, served short enlistments, but many were away the 
whole season. The regiment of Colonel Nichols, raised for 
the Bennington Campaign, was organized on July 19th, for 
two months. In it and in others raised about the same time 
or a little later, were large contingents of Peterborough men. 
They abandoned their farms at the height of the busy season, 
with their crops all ready to harvest, and there were not 
enough men left at home to gather them. 

When Major Robert Wilson came on to Boston with the 
Bennington prisoners he was compelled to go home to save 
his own. On being called to account for his absence without 
leave, he replied that he was obliged to go home to save his 
crops from ruin and not enough help could be found to har- 
vest them. His case was an illustration of the general 
situation. 

This dearth of farm labor was supplied, in a limited 
degree by the women of the household. In the earlier years 

11 



146 Pcterhorotigh in the Revolution. 

many of them had been accustomd to assist in the planting? 
and harvesting of the crops. It was a habit brought from the 
old country, and was continued in Peterborough as occasion 
called, but the occasions were much more frequent and 
more imperative during the Eevolution than in the previous 
years of the settlement. There are many allusions to this 
practice in the family traditions of the people, but it is im- 
possible to state the extent that it was followed betw^een 1775 
and 1783. It must have been very considerable owing to the 
large number of absent men. 

The mothers and daughters felt the stress of the war in 
other ways quite as severely as the sterner sex, as is always 
true in long conflicts. In addition to the usual labors of the 
house and farm they made the clothing of the family. They 
took the wool from the sheep's back and the flax as it came 
from the swingling block and knife, prepared them, spun 
them into threads or yarn, wove them on the hand loom, and 
cut and made the cloth into garments. With the large 
families of those days it was a long, laborious task, and 
during the war it was far greater than before. The clothing 
for the army was made in the homes of the people for there 
is no allusion to any being imported, except in limited 
quantities from France, in 1777, and in succeeding years. 
The soldier could furnish his own outfit if he desired and 
receive a small allowance for it, but whether supplied by the 
recruit or by the State there were no mills to manufacture 
the cloth, and the clothing of the army was made and fur- 
nished from the homes of the citizens. We have a hint of 
the labors of the mothers and daughters of the household in 
the story of the way Nathaniel Holmes was equipped for the 
army by the family of William Moore. 

The following incident sheds further light upon the life 
of the people as it was affected by the war. It was told by 
an aged lady wiiose name has not been preserved, and oc- 
curred in a neighboring town:* 

"In 1777 a call came for fifteen men. The train band 

* History New Ipswich, p. 89. « 



The Social and Industrial Situation, 1115-1183. Ii7 

was called out and my brother John was drafted for one of 
them. He did not return until late at night when we were 
all in bed. \Mien I arose the next morning I found my 
mother in tears and she said that John was to march the day 
after to-morrow morning at sunrise. She said he had a 
supply of summer clothes but needed winter garments. I 
asked what he wanted and she said a pair of pantaloons. 
"Oh.* I replied, "if that is all we can spin and weave them 
before he goes.' 'But' said my mother, 'the wool is on the 
sheeps' backs and the sheep are in the pasture.' I told my 
younger brother to take a salt dish and call the sheep into 
the yard. My mother still objected that there were no sheep 
shears within three and a half miles, that there was no time 
to spin and weave it and there was a long web of linen in the 
loom. But I insisted that I could find shears and a loom 
and that it could be done. I went to the yard with my 
brother, caught a white sheep and with my loom shears cut 
enough wool for half a web. A black sheep was then se- 
cured and enough was cut from it for the filling and half a 
web. The wool thus obtained was spun, washed, sized and 
dyed. A loom was found, the web 'got in' and woven, the 
cloth prepared and cut and made two or three hour-s before 
my brother's time of departure without help from any 
modem improvements. The aged patriot closed by saying, 
'I felt no weariness, I wept not. I was serving my Country. 
But the garment finished I retired and wept till my over- 
charged and bursting heart was relieved.' " 

There was no regular mail bet^'een the army and the 
towns of the different states. Letters and communications 
were carried back and forth by visiting friends and return- 
ing soldiers, but they came at irregular and often at long 
intervals. As during the Civil War, the families made up 
and sent to their representatives at the front boxes of cloth- 
ing and family supplies, carried to the soldier in the field by 
some friend or messenger going to camp. At some periods 
of the war, as in 1775 and 1777, the anxiety of the people 
over impending military events and for the safety of their 
absent friends was intense. At such times they were accus- 
tomed to assemble on the top of the high hill just north of 
the Sharon line and over which the "Street road" then ran, 
and watch for the expected courier bearing the tidings of 



148 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

victory or defeat from the seat of war. This solicitude did 
not add to the labors or to the expenses of the conflict, but it 
made heavy drafts upon the courage and fortitude of the 
inhabitants and made their other burdens doubly hard to 
bear. 

The evils of the currency affected every business tran- 
saction and the efforts of the State and Congress to relieve 
the confusion added fuel to a fire which soon destroyed 
confidence in the value of the paper money in circulation. 
The farmer tried to avoid the trouble by exchanging his 
surplus crops for such things as he could use in his family 
or on his farm ; or, he took his pay in a promissory note, the 
value of which declined day by day. The hired man was 
paid for his labor in the same way. If he received his 
wages in produce he got rid of it as best he could; and if 
in a written promise to pay, if the promise was ever re- 
deemed, he took his chance of payment in a currency the net 
value of which was far less than the terms of the note called 
for — in either case suffering heavy loss. The experience of 
Captain Scott in the sale of his Peterborough farm is a 
pathetic illustration of the final results of such methods of 
settlement. 

The people cut down their living expenses and gave up 
the use of many things they could do without. Salt and 
iron were scarce; the use of tea was abandoned and a drink 
made from herbs substituted. The consumption of "West 
India and other foreign goods" was lessened, in part because 
of the general poverty and in part because they were difficult 
to procure, especially in the first years of the war. Sugar 
and molasses were made from the syrup of the maple, but 
not in sufficient quantities to supply the demand for sweets. 
Molasses was also made from vinegar and sometimes ex- 
tracted from corn stalks. Of things that could be grown or 
raised on the farms tliere was enough, for the land was 
fertile and so there was no famine. 

There were no "war meetings," which were so marked a 
feature of municipal life in the Civil War, for the encourage- 



The Social and Industrial Situation^ 1775-1783. 149 

ment of enlistments under the different calls for men; no 
ladies' aid or benevolent societies to work for tlie relief of the 
men in the field and stimulate the fortitude of the people at 
home, and no lectures or concerts as a recreation to bring 
them together. They went to church on Sunday, met at the 
Wilson Tavern on evenings and rainy days for inter-change 
of opinions, and visited back and forth at neighbors' fire- 
sides. The town meetings considered local business affairs 
and debated ways and means to fill the demands of the 
military service. The loyalty of the people was born of deep 
convictions and was kept alive by family discussion at the 
domestic hearthstone and not by the influence of numbers 
stirred by oratory at public meetings. These were the op- 
portunities and the methods by which public opinion was 
created and directed, and the patriotism of the people kept 
to the fighting point. 

There are no records to show how many of the men fur- 
nished by the town were volunteers nor how many were 
drafted. But soldiers were obtained in other ways. In the 
neighboring towns it was a frequent practice for public- 
spirited men, whether over or within military age, to hire 
recruits to represent them in the military service. Some- 
times two or three would unite in hiring a soldier. They 
paid him a bounty, often promising additional pay to the 
established wages. The substitute was accredited to the 
town where his employers resided. In the end these men 
were reimbursed for the money so expended, but at the time 
of hiring there was no such expectation. While there are no 
specific instances on record where this was done in Peter- 
borough it was undoubtedly the fact, for the custom was 
quite general in the surrounding towns. 

In the last years of the Revolution, after 1778, just as in 
the last years of the Civil War, the town hired its soldiers 
whenever they could be found, paying such bounties as were 
necessary to secure the men. Some of them were from 
Peterborough, but many were from other places. The ages 
of the men enlisting varied all the way from ten years (John 



150 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

Scott, son of Captain William Scott) to 09 years (John 
Scott, great-uncle of his youthful namesake). In 1777 all 
ages were represented in the same companies, but during the 
last years of the conflict the men furnished were young in 
years, much more so, as a general rule, than in earlier 
periods of the war. 

The increase in taxation was heavy and severely felt, and 
it continued for some years after the war closed. In 1775 
the Province tax assessed by the State was £7 5s on each 
thousand pounds of the State levy, which in that year was 
four thousand pounds. This was in addition to the amount 
levied by the town for local purposes. But in succeeding 
years State taxes mounted upward by leaps and bounds. In 
1777 the State assessed £40,000 on the towns; in 1778, 
£80,000; in 1779, £250,000 and £500,000 for continental 
money; in 1780, £2,100,000; in 1780, £100,000 and 
£5000 in specie; in 1782, £110,000; and in 1783 it was 
£55,000. The town rate in 1777 was £7 lOs M on every 
thousand pounds of the State tax, and in 1780 it was £7 15s 
5rf. In 1780 the State tax upon the town was more than 
£15,000, where three years before it had been a little over 
£28. Allowing the depreciation of the currency in 1780 to 
have been in the ratio of forty to one, it would still be an 
increase from £28 to £375, more than thirteen fold. 

The increase of local taxation must have been in like 
proportion for the local war expenses were heavy and hard 
to meet. During the war there was no expectation they 
would be refunded, and reimbursement did not come until 
some years later. There is nothing to indicate what the 
increase was for no assessors' nor other records relating to 
local taxation prior to 1790 are now in existence, but some 
idea ma}' be had from the experience of other places, where 
records have been much better preserved. In 1787 Peter- 
borough voted to make up an account of its war expenses, as 
requested by the State, and the duty was assigned to the 
Selectmen. This account cannot be found. Neighboring 
municipalities gave aid to solders' families as was done in 



The Social and Iivdustrial Situation, 1775-1783. 151 

1861-'0o. They paid for property lost, for the men's 
travel and attendance at Cambridge, Bennington, Saratoga, 
and Koyalton, if not in other cases, and offered bounties in 
addition to those given by the State and Congress. We get 
a dim glimpse of what the towns did in some of these par- 
ticulars in the records for 1779 and subsequent years, but it 
is only a glimjise. For time and travel of its men to Cam- 
bridge in 1775, and to Bennington and Ticonderoga in 1777, 
Jaffrey presented a bill to the State for £83 3s lOd* The 
bill of Kludge for bounties paid during the war was 
£3515, and that of New Ipswich was £1179 19s. The town 
of Temple paid the families of five of its soldiers, in State 
aid, the sum of £292 9s 2dj This increase of taxation came 
when the ability of the people to pay was seriously di- 
minished. 

The tax gatherer was often at the door. The im- 
j>overished patriot often saw his last cow, and the harvests 
of his field taken to satisfy the collector whose demands 
could not be evaded. Up to 1779, Samuel Cunningham, the 
collector for 1777, had sold more than a dozen estates for 
taxes, and Kobert Morison, the collector for the next year, 
sold nearly as many. Some of these estates were those of 
non-residents, still it was a symptom of the general poverty 
and distress, which rested heavily upon the people of the 
town. 

Such were some of the trials which the people of Peter- 
borough endured to win our independence. The difficulties 
can be but hinted at — the details must be supplied by the 
imagination. It is a story of hardship, of laborious toil, of 
suffering and self-denial. But there was no wavering, and 
the i)eople's courage and fortitude held out until the trium- 
phant close. Let us believe that long as the contest was 
there were no regrets at the sacrifices required to win the 
victory. In the Civil War the people had surplus capital in 
the Savings Bank to draw upon; when the burdens of the 



» State papers, vol. xvi, p. 534. 
t State papers, vol. xvi, p. 858. 



152 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

Rebellion bore down heaviest the mills of the town were in 
ful oi)eration and monthly distributed large sums of money 
in the community. The money in circulation was good and 
labor and employment were abundant; the farmer could sell 
his produce for cash, and the women of the household were 
relieved of the necessity of manufacturing the cloth and 
making the c'othing of the family and the army. The farms 
were under a high state of cultivation and supplied with the 
best tools and implements of husbandry. It is impossible to 
estimate the difference these facts made in the economic 
conditions of the people from what they were in the Revolu- 
tion. And then the war for Independence was twice as long. 
We may well wonder that the fathers of 1776 could sustain 
an eight years' contest with the mighty empire of Great 
Britain imder such adverse conditions. That they did so 
entitles them no less to our admiration than to our grati- 
tude. The least that we, who enjoy the fruit of their forti- 
tude and sacrifice, can do is to hold their memories in grate- 
ful, reverent remembrance, and guard with eternal vigilance 
the precious heritage they won and transmitted to us. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



REVOLUTIONARY PENSIONS. 



The pension policy of the government was entered upon 
gradually, and the foundations of it were laid early in the 
war. A resolution of the Continental Congress, on August 
26, 1776, provided that every officer and soldier losing a limb 
in any engagement, or being so disabled as to render him 
incapable thereafter from getting a livelihood, should receive 
during his life or the continuance of such disability one-half 
pay from the date of such disability; and whoever was 
wounded in an engagement and thereby disabled from fur- 
ther service in the army or navy, though not totally dis- 
abled from getting a livelihood, should receive such monthly 
sum as should be deemed adequate by the Assembly, or other 
representative body of the State, provided the amount does 
not exceed his half-pay.* 

This act was made effective by necessary legislation in 
New Hampshire, and under it claimants filed their applica- 
tions with the Assembly which were referred to a Committee 
and reported upon. If the report was favorable, the Assem- 
bly adopted it and the soldier's name entered upon the 
pension roll. Among the Peterborough soldiers were 
placed on the roll under this legislation : 

Thomas Green, from January 1, 1776, for one year and 

subsequently continued. 
John Robbe, Sergeant, from May 23, 1778, continued till 
pensioned by Congress. 

The second section of the statute provided that if any 

* Kesolution of Congress, Aug. 36. 1776, 



154 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

town refused to make such provision then the Selectmen 
were to do it, and to exhibit to the Legislature ''an account 
of the Surplus of the Costs for the Necessaries of Life by 
them supplied with a reasonable Sum for their Trouble and 
Expenses and the Monies paid on such Accounts shall be 
annexed to the then next Taxes of those Towns." It was 
further enacted that a like provision should be made for 
families living in town of any soldiers who were returned as 
having enlisted for any town as part of their quota of the 
Continental Army. 

This law remained in force during the war, and was 
repealed June 20, 1783, when the Council voted to stop 
Selectmen from supplying soldiers at the expense of the 
State.* 

There is nothing on the records showing any action by 
the Town under this statute, nor the amount of relief 
afforded. The number of families aided cannot be stated. 

The policy of Congress, entered upon with the organiza- 
tion of the general government in 1789, was conservative, 
and was at first restricted to the continuance of pensions for 
definite terms, but at the expiration of the period to renew 
them. The first national pension act, September 29, 1789, 
simply continued the pensions allowed by the State and 
which were assumed by the general government, for one 
year. It was limited to those who were wounded or disabled 
in the service. Four years later (February 28, 1793), the 
law provided that applications should be made to a Justice 
of the United States Circuit Court, or to a Committee ap- 
pointed for the purpose. Up to March 3, 1803, the full 
pension was one-half of the soldier's pay, but by the statute 
of that year was increased to five dollars per month for non- 
commissioned oflScers and privates. Three years later (April 
10, 180G), the scope of the law was enlarged so as to include 
not only those disabled by wounds received in service but 
also those who since the war had become disabled as result 

* Council records, vol. vm, p. 445. 



Revolutionary Pensions. 155 

of wounds, so as to render them unable to earn their subsis- 
tance by manual labor. After this there was no substantial 
change until the act of March 18, 1818, when it was provided 
that whoever served in the army through the war, or for 
nine months or longer, ''on the Continental Establishment," 
and "who was or hereafter may become by reason of his 
reduced circumstances in need of assistance from his Coun- 
try," and shall have substantiated his claim — if an officer, 
twenty dollars per month; if a non-commissioned officer or 
private, eight dollars per month, could make his application 
to any United States Court or State Court of record, and if 
the application was established by evidence, the result, with 
the application and evidence, were to be transmitted to the 
Secretary of War, who was authorized to place the applicant 
on the pension roll at the rate of — if an officer, twenty dol- 
lars; and if a non-commissioned officer or private, at the 
rate of eight dollars per month. 

A year later this act was amended by requiring, that in 
all applications for the payment of pensions, the pensioner 
must file with his application the affidavit of two physicians 
certifying to the continuance of the disability and the de- 
gree thereof. Applicants under the law of 1818 were 
exempt from this requirement. 

In 1820, May 7th, another law introduced an important 
modification. It enacted that those pensioned under the 
law of 1818 should not receive pensions further until they 
had exhibited to some Court of Record a schedule of their 
entire estate and the amount of their income, subscribed and 
sworn to, certifying that they had no property or income, 
directly or indirectly, except as stated in their schedule. 
And the act gave to the Secretary of War authority to strike 
from the rolls the name of any person whose schedule or 
certificate showed that he was not in such indigent circum- 
stances as to need assistance from the country. 

Under this last statute the following Peterborough sol- 
diers were dropped from the rolls : 



156 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

John Scott. Restored to rolls, December 18, 1830. 

Samuel Spear. 

William Blair. Restored to rolls, December 27, 1832. 

David Smiley. Restored to rolls, 1823. ( ?) 
The pension laws were still further extended by the act 
of June 7, 1832, by which it was provided that officers and 
soldiers who served in the Continental Line or militia for 
two years or more should receive a pension equal to their 
pay, for life; and those serving six months or more should 
receive such proportion of their pay annually as the whole 
period of their service bore to two years. 

The first statute relating to widows was enacted July 4, 
1836, which pensioned all widows of soldiers who had died 
before that date at half-rate. The law in regard to widows, 
provided they had not re-married, was extended from time 
to time and finally included all widows of Revolutionary 
soldiers whose husbands served fourteen days in the army 
or were in any battle, and after the Civil War the rate was 
raised from eight to twelve dollars per month. The statute 
also covered the children, under certain limitations, whose 
fathers or mothers had established their right to pension. 

The following Peterborough men were granted pensions. 
The list is not, probably, complete, but includes all contained 
in records accessible at the Pension Office, Washington : 

John Robbe. Pensioned under act of 1785 

William Scott (Captain). Placed on roll 1794 
Thomas Green March 4, 1795 

James Moore April 20, 1796 

William Scott (Major) 1807 

James Hackley September 13, 1808 

Randall McAllister. Placed on roll, 

September 13, 1808. 
William Dimond. Application dated April 13, 1818 
John Swan June 30, 1818 

Isaac Mitchell September 22, 1818 

Amos Spofford September 30, 1818 

Richard Richardson. Date of application, 

December 28, 1818 
John Blair. Placed on roll January 19, 1819 



Revolutionary Pensions. 157 

John Scott (Son of Major Scott) January 23, 1819 
Benjamin Alld March 23, 1819 

John Matthews March 23, 1819 

Joseph Henderson April 20, 1819 

James Taggart (Lieutenant) April 21, 1819 

IJWilliam Blair May 18, 1819 

Samuel Caldwell May 22, 1819 

*John Scott (Son of Captain Scott) May 25, 1819 
Jonathan Wheelock, Jr., May 25, 1819 

Samuel Robbe, 2d July 15, 1819 

Christopher Thayer September 7, 1819 

fDavid Smiley February 11, 1820 

Samuel Spear May 26, 1820 

Ebenezer Perkins June 13, 1820 

Charles White February 5, 1827 

Samuel Morrison. Date of application, 

August 25, 1828 
Richard Gilchrist. Placed on roll January 7, 1832 
Abner Haggett. Placed on roll August 30, 1832 
Isaac Houston October 20, 1832 

John Taggart (Ensign) March 8, 1833 

John Todd March 15, 1833 

Jacob Baldwin April 15, 1833 

James Porter April 24, 1833 

Samuel Robbe, 1st January 14, 1834 

The census of 1840 contained an enumeration of the 
pensioners then living in the different towns, their ages, and 
the names of the heads of families with whom they resided. 
The Peterborough list was:$ 

Todd, Jolin aged 83 years, residing with John Todd 

" Samuel Morrison 

" " Thomas Mathews 

" " John Dimond 

" " David Smiley 

" " Samuel Maynard 

" " Peter Twiss 

" " James Swan 

" '' Thomas Hadley 

Provision was also made for assistance to the families 
of non-commissioned officers and soldiers in the Continental 

H Suf?pencled under act of 1820: restored December 18, 1830. 
* Suspended under act of 1830; restored April 33, 1833. 
t Suspended under act of 1820;. 
t N. H. State papers, vol. xxx, p. 433. 



Morrison, Samuel 


" 79 • 


Mathews, Sarah 


' 79 " 


Dimond, Rebecca 


« 7g » 


Smiley, David 


' 80 " 


Porter, James, ' 


' 85 " 


Haggett, Abner ' 


• 81 " 


Blair, Elizabeth 


' 84 " 


Hadley, Phoebe ' 


' 85 " 



158 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

service. The act was passed by the State Legislature, No- 
vember 26, 1777. The first section was as follows: 

Whereas the very exorbitant prices at which the 
necessaries of life are sold at the present day renders it fit 
and reasonable, that effectual provision should be made for 
supplying at reasonable Kates the Families of such Non- 
commissioned Officers and private Soldiers as have engaged 
or shall engage in the Continental Army for three Years or 
During the war. 

Be it therefore Resolved that the Selectmen of the 
several Towns within this State or the major part of them 
who have not already made sufficient Provision for this 
purpose be and they are hereby directed immediately upon 
the Receipt of this Resolve, to call Meetings of the Free- 
holders and other qualified Voters within their Towns respec- 
tively; which Towns thus assembled are hereby impowered 
and directed, to make effectual Provision that Families of 
such Non-Commissioned Officers and Privates in their re- 
spective Towns as have engaged or shall engage in the Conti- 
rental Service as aforesaid shall be supplied from and after 
the Tenth day of December next with such Necessaries of 
Life as their Circumstances may or shall require to the 
Amount of such sums as shall be lodged by such Non- 
Commissioned Officers and Private Soldiers with such Com- 
mittee as hath been or shall be appointed by the several 
Towns for this purpose not exceeding the one-half part of 
their Wages respectively (the other half doubtless the Non- 
Commissioned Officer & Soldier hath been or will be supplied 
with in Camp by the State Commissary) they paying for the 
same at the Rates set and limited in "An Act to prevent 
Monopoly & Op])ression" or at the Rates they have been set 
at in such Town in pursuance of said Act; Provided 
Nevertheless the said Committee shall refrain from 
sup])lying tlie Families of such ]Men as have received Bounties 
(either from the Town for which they enlisted of from 
Individuals in Consideration of their entering into the Con- 
tinental Army) for so long a Time as the said Committees 
shall judge the Bounties they respectively received would 
have answered the extra Expense of supplying their respec- 
tive Families with Necessaries. 



PERSONAL and MILITARY 
SKETCHES 



OF 



Peterborough's Revolutionary Soldiers 



Brave men and worthy patriots, 
Dear to God and famous to all ages." 

Milton. 



INTRODUCTION 



The following list includes: First, soldiers who were 
residents of Peterborough either before or during the Kevo- 
lation, whether serving to the credit of the town or not. 
Second, residents of other towns who served one or more 
enlistments during the war to the credit of Peterborough. 
Third, all those who are accredited to Peterborough on any 
printed military roll of New Hampshire or Massachusetts, or 
to Peterborough and some other town. To these are added 
the names of soldiers who served to the credit of Massachu- 
setts and came to Peterborough after 1783, and who after 
that date lived in town and died there. The entire military 
record of each soldier is given as it is found, with the volume 
and page where the same may be verified. In every in- 
stance where there is any question as to the town for which 
the soldier served all the facts known have been stated and 
the reader can draw his ovm inferences whether the man 
should be accredited to Peterborough or to another place. 
By taking this course no injustice is done and the interests 
of historical accuracy are conserved. 

It would be a gratification to the author if he could say 
that all the statements in these sketches are correct in detail. 
But no claim of the kind is made. The impossibility of per- 
fect accuracy is apparent when the diflSculties attaining it 
are considered. 

The printed military rolls, which are full and correct 
copies of the originals, are very incomplete. Many of the 
originals have never been found. For instance, some rolls 
of men serving in 177G are missing, and only two or three, 

12 



162 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

and those of compauies, of the men in service after 1781, 
have been discovered. There are no company rolls in 
existence of the men answering the Royalton Alarm in 1780. 
And yet it is claimed by high authority that New England 
had more soldiers under arms at that time than at any other 
period of the war. In this Royalton raid the town of Stod- 
dard had twenty-one men. In the same proportion Peter- 
borough must have sent sixty. But there is no record or 
roll showing that it or any other town but Stoddard fur- 
nished a man, except what appears in the Town Claims to 
reimbursement for money paid out for men furnished. See 
XVI, 215, 530, 531, 538, 540, 542, 840, 869. 

In only a few of the New Hampshire rolls is the resi- 
dence of the soldier, or the town he served for, given. Two 
or three contain the soldiers' descriptive lists. The rolls of 
the New Hampshire Militia, both before and during the 
war, except that of the Peterborough Company of January, 
1776, are missing. In many cases the statements of differ- 
ent rolls do not agree with each other and are confusing. 
In other instances there were two, and sometimes three and 
even more, men of the same name in the army, and often at 
the same time. With nothing on the rolls to identify one 
from the other it is often impossible to say which one w^as 
the Peterborough soldier with any certainty. Very many 
of the men were young, belonging to families whose gene- 
alogy and family history have never been written or gathered. 
Some of them, at the time of enlistment, had been residents 
of Peterborough for only a brief period — a few months, or 
perhaps a year or two — and who, after, or soon after, their 
discharge went elsewhere and never returned to town, 
leaving no trace of their movements l>ehind. Their names 
cannot be found on any record or document outside the 
military rolls. Many were recruits hired from other places, 
but from what towns the rolls are in most cases silent, and 
the men probably never saw Peterborough. The public 
records, both during and after the war, and for many years 
following, contain few vital statistics, and, sad to say, many 



Personal and Military Sketches. 163 

a Revolutionary hero sleeps in an unknown and unmarked 
grave. Where his last resting place is found in a majority 
of cases the tablet is silent as to the military service of the 
patriot who sleeps beneath. 

It is one hundred and twenty-seven years since the war 
ended. The actors in the struggle, and their children, had 
little appreciation of their duty to preserve the facts relat- 
ing to those who bore the heat and burden of the battle ; and 
the historian, in a large majority of cases, is left to the 
public records, incomplete and imperfect, for his materials. 

All that is claimed for these sketches is that they cor- 
rectly reproduce what the military and pension rolls show, 
supplemented by such other facts as the writer has been 
able to gather, after exhausting every source of information 
known to him or to those with whom he has consulted in 
their preparation. 

The difficulty is greater because no roll of the men serving 
for the town was ever preserved. The town records con- 
tain the names of three Peterborough soldiers, but no more. 
From the State Papers, outside the Revolutionary Rolls, 
(Vols. XIV, XV, XVI, XVII), a dozen more can be identi- 
fied. The list found in the History of Peterborough, pages 
150-158, is not reliable. It contains names not found on any 
existing military roll, and omits others there found and 
certified as Peterborough soldiers. The military service of 
the men there given does not, in many cases, agree with the 
official records. Admitting Dr. Smith's surmise as to the 
authorship of the roll to be true, still the list was made up 
several years after the war ended, and in the absence of any 
official basis, could not otherwise than contain many errors, 
for the Revolutionary rolls were not accessible to him. It 
is obvious, in view of all these circumstances, that no correct 
roll of the men serving for the town in the Revolution, or 
who should be accredited to it, can now be made, and the 
impossible task is not attempted. It can be safely said that 
the number is much larger than is stated in the History of 
Peterborough, for the town filled all its quotas and dis- 
charged to the limit its patriotic obligations. 



164 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

In the Massachusetts printed rolls, it is stated of the 
men in Captain William Scott's company in 1775, that they 
served three months and sixteen days. This means that 
they had served that time up to August 1, 1775, the date of 
the roll from which the statement is taken. The men in the 
Massachusetts regiments of that year were enlisted to serve 
until December 31st, and did so serve, unless it is otherwise 
stated. 

In Smith's History of Peterborough, see page 157, are 
the names of David Allat as serving at Cambridge in 1775 ; 
Dudley Taggart (page 158), and Thomas Temple, as also 
being in the same campaign. The same authority also gives 
the names of James Richey, as at Cambridge in 1775, and 
at the Walpole Alarm in 1777 ; and also William Houston in 
1777, as at the Walpole Alarm. But the names of none of 
these men can be found on any roll either of New Hamp- 
shire or Massachusetts, except that of James Richey, which 
should be John Richey. 

The same History speaks of Samuel Gregg as in service 
at the Lexington (1775) and Walpole (1777) Alarms, — page 
151. But his name is not found on any military roll for 
either enlistment. In the Genealogies, — see page 99 — he is 
represented as a Major in the Continental service, but no 
record of it has been discovered. He was appointed Major 
of the Twelfth Regiment of Militia, March 25, 1785. XX, 
282, 285. The Samuel Gregg in Captain Findlay's company 
in 1777, see XV, S9.'i, ^28, was from Londonderry. 

The military record, as stated by the applicants for pensions, 
often differs from the record found in the rolls. But the 
soldiers filed their claims nearly 40 years after the war, made 
their statements from recollection, and it is not surprising 
that their memories often failed them. The references in 
the sketches are to the volume and pages of the New Hamp- 
shire State Papers (not to the volumes of Revolutionary 
Rolls, I, II, III and IV), unless otherwise stated. In case 
of every man serving any enlistment for Peterborough, 
where the soldier afterward received a United States pen- 



Personal and Military Sketches. 165 

sion, the pension rolls at Washington have been searched, 
and copies of the application and other papers there on file 
are inserted. 



Luther Adams. Was born in New Ipswich, N. H., about 
1760, and was the son of Stephen and Rebecca Adams. 
Soon after the Revolution he went to Dublin where he 
married Fanny Stanford, October 2, 1792. He removed 
from Dublin to Vermont in 1802, and died of exposure from 
cold in 1810. His widow died in Lunenburg, Vt., in 1812, 
January 12th. ^ 

October 4, 1781, he was mustered into a regiment of 650 
men commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Reynolds, 
under an act approved June 26, 1781, VIII, 904, raised to 
reinforce the army in New York, at West Point. Dis- 
charged December 21, 1781. Length of service two months, 
eighteen days. Pay, 40s per month ; total pay, £5 4s. Place 
of abode, Peterborough; town enlisted for, Peterborough. 
J VI, 2Jfl and 25^. 



John Alexander. Little can be learned of this man 
beyond his military service. His name nowhere occurs on 
any record or document relating to the town, outside of the 
military rolls. He may have been the son of William and 
Elizabeth Alexander, and if so was born in Lunenburg, 
Mass., August 14, 1744. A John Alexander went from 
Peterborough to Dublin about 1760, but left there prior to 
1771, and may have removed from there to Antrim, where 
he died in 1812. This man was of Scotch-Irish ancestry. 
His name is not attached to the Association Test, either of 
Dublin or Peterborough, nor is he on the roll of Captain 
Alexander Robbe's company of militia in January, 1776. 
There was a John Alexander in Winchester, N. H., during 
and after the Revolution, XIII, 690; another in Windham in 
1769, XIII, 698, and still another in Westmorland in 1750, 



166 Peierhoroiigh in the Revoiutiort. 

XIII, 652. But none of these men can be identified as the 
Peterborough soldier. 

A John Alexander was a private in Captain John 
Houghton's company of Colonel Nahum Baldwin's regiment 
in 1776, raised to reinforce the army in New York. The 
regiment was in the battle of White Plains, October 28, 
1776. Mustered September 22, 1776, discharged early in the 
following December. Paid a bounty of £6 and £1 13s id for 
travel. XIV, Ji26. 

One of the men returned for Peterborough by Colonel 
Enoch Hale under an order issued by the Committee of 
Safety, dated April, 1777, directing him to recruit 119 men 
for three years out of his regiment of militia for the Conti- 
nental army. Assigned to Captain William Scott's com- 
jjany, Colonel Joseph Cilley's regiment. XIV, 577. His 
name does not appear on any roll of the company, though the 
names of the other men then recruited do so appear. The 
name of James Alexander is on the roll of the same comftany 
and regiment, made up to equalize the pay of soldiers for 
service prior to January 1, 1780, on account of the depreci- 
ation of the currency, and was paid |30. XV, 711. This 
may be the same man. The return of Enoch Hale is the 
only mention of this John Alexander on the military rolls, 
beside his service in the regiment of Colonel Baldwin. 

(A Lieutenant John Alexander, of Winchester, was an 
officer in Captain Elisha Whitcomb's company of Colonel 
Timothy Bedel's regiment in 1777. XVI, 927, and a James 
Alexander was a private in Captain Duncan's company of 
Colonel Kelley's regiment (service five days) in 1777, XV, 
116, and same man in Captain McConnell's company of 
General Stark's brigade (service two months, eight days), 
the same year, XV, 175; also a James Alexander in Captain 
McConnell's company in 1776. XIV, Ji25). 

See New England Historical Genealogical Kegister, Vol. 
32, page 276; same. Vol. 37, page 296; same, Vol. 38, page 
287; same, Vol. 39, page 233. 



Personal and Military Sketches. 167 

Thomas Alexander. What was said of John Alexander 
in regard to his personal history can be affirmed of Thomas 
Alexander. His name does not appear on any town docu- 
ment or record, and nothing can be learned of him except 
what is here given. Whether he was of the same family as 
John Alexander is unknown. 

He is on a return made by Abiel Abbott, Muster Master, 
dated December 17, 1777, as one of ten men recruited for 
the Continental army and serving in Captain William 
Scott's company to the credit of Peterborough. Was paid a 
bounty of £20 and 8s lOd for travel. XIV, 612. This is the 
cnly appearance of the name on any military roll of the 
State, — and all further definite information of him is want- 
ing. A man by this name was living in Winchester after 
the Revolution. XIII, 694. 



Benjamin Allds (or Alld). Son of William and Lettuce 
Alld. William was a native of Ireland, and came to Peter- 
borough from Merrimack, N. H., in 1778. Benjamin was 
born Sexjtember 18, 1759, in Merrimack. Married Nancy 
White, daughter of John and Molly (Wallace) White. Died 
in Peterborough, November 1, 1823, aged 61 years. The 
I>lace of his birth and home of his parents up to 1778 
accounts for his residence being given "Merrimack" on some 
of the rolls. See XV, 616. See XV, 753, where the date of his 
enlistment into Colonel Jackson's (Mass.) regiment is given 
as May 30, 1777. 

A private in Captain Philip Putnam's company of Colonel 
Nahum Baldwin's regiment, raised by vote of the Council 
and Committee of Safety, September 14, 1776, to reinforce 
the army in New York. The regiment was in the battle of 
White Plains, October 28, 1776. Mustered September 22d, 
discharged December oth. Was paid a bounty of £6, and £2 
Is 8d for travel. Length of service about three months. 
XIV, Jfll. Private in Captain Thomas Hunt's company of 
Colonel Henry Jackson's (Mass.) regiment. Enlisted July 



1G8 Peterhorotigh in the Revolution,. 

24, 1777 {see above) for three years. Residence, Peter- 
borough, credited to Cohasset, Mass. His name appears on 
a roll of Continental pay accounts from May 30, 1777, to 
December 31, 1779 ; on a pay roll of Captain James Jones's 
company, same regiment; on a pay roll for February, 1778, 
dated at Guelph, Pa.; on a pay roll of same regiment for 
August, 1778, dated at Providence, R. I.; on pay rolls for 
September, 1778, and February, 1771), dated at Pawtuxet, 
R. I.; on a muster roll for April, 1771), dated at Pawtuxet; 
reported on command at Newtown, Mass. ; on a pay roll for 
five days' service from October 2G, 1779, to November 1, 1779. 
Reported as deserter May 15, 1779; returned to service 
October 26, 1779. On roll of Continental pay accounts for 
service from January 1, 1780, to October 27, 1780. Mass. 
Rolls, Vol. I, page 133, and see XV, 616, 752. Under the 
name of Benjamin Alld on same roll (see page 132) he is on a 
return dated February 16, 1778, and is in Captain Obadiah 
Peal's company. Served three years. ^Yas discharged July, 
1780. He is on a muster roll of men raised by New Hampshire 
under act approved June 26, 1781, see VIII, 90Jf, Lieutenant 
Colonel Daniel Reynolds commanding, to fill up the Conti- 
nental Army. Mustered October 4, 1781 ; discharged Decem- 
ber 20, 1781. Served at West Point. Pay, 40s per month. 
Total wages, £5 2s 8d. Length of service, two months, 17 
days, XVI, 21ft and 254- Total service, three years, ten 
months. He was a United States pensioner. In his appli- 
cation, executed April 9, 1818, he says he was born in 
Merrimack, N. H., that he enlisted in September , 1776, in 
Captain Putnam's company of Colonel Baldwin's regiment, 
and served three months. Enlisted for three years in June, 
1777, and served as a private under Captains Jones and 
Hunt, in Colonel Henry Jackson's Continental regiment, 
until October, 1780, when he was discharged at West Point. 
About 1816 he fell into financial straits and was supported 
by the town for a time. In that year his support as a 
pauper was auctioned off for ninety-six cents a week. His- 
tory of Peterborough, 178. In 1784 the State allowed him 



Personal and Military Sketches. 160 

£5 2s lid as depreciation money for liis service in 1781. 

XX, 247. 



David Ames. Born in 1752, but place unknown, and was 
the son of Stephen and Jane Ames, Was a resident of 
Peterborough in 1775 and 177G. Signed the Association 
Test, and was a private in Captain Alexander Robbe's Peter- 
borough Company of militia in 1776. Removed to Dublin in 
1782, but afterward returned to Peterborough, where he died 
September 24, 1834, aged 82 years. 

Enlisted as a private in Colonel Jonathan Chase's regi- 
ment of militia which went to join the Northern Army at 
Ticonderoga, May 7, 1777; discharged June 18th. Service, 
one month, twelve days. Wages, £4 10s per month ; total pay 
and travel, £8, 6s. XV, 18. Enlisted to the credit of Peter- 
borough into Captain Alexander Robbe's Company in Lieu- 
tenant Colonel Heald's detachment, which answered the 
Ticonderoga alarm in June, 1777. Date of enlistment, June 
29, 1777; discharge, July 3; service, five days. Pay (at the 
rate of £4 10s per month) and travel, £1 15s IQd. XV, 101. 
The regiment marched as far as Charlestown (No. 4) when 
it was ordered back by an express from Colonel Bellows 
announcing the fall of Ticonderoga. The regiment returned 
to Rindge July 3d, and the men sent home. 

(There was another David Ames from Hoi lis, who served 
several enlistments. The rolls show that this man was 
serving in other companies and regiments at the time the 
Peterborough David was serving in Chase's regiment and 
Captain Alexander Robbe's company. See XIV, 32, 346, 572, 
590, 609; XV, 510, 613, 743; XVI, 51, 53; XVII, 61, 464. 



Joseph Babb (or Babbe or Babe). Was a resident of 
Peterborough in 1775 and 1776, and a member of Captain 
Alexander Robbe's company of militia. The place and date 
of his death are not certainly known. Probably born in 
Tewksbury, Mass. Parentage and date of birth have not 
been discovered. In Hurd's history of Middlesex County his 



170 Petcrhorongh in the Revolution. 

name is on the list of Revolutionary soldiers from that town. 
When he tame to Peterborough cannot be ascertained. 

Mustered by Colonel Enoch Hale out of his regiment of 
militia into Captain Joseph Parker's company of Colonel 
Isaac Wyman's regiment, eTuly 18, 177(». Joined the Ameri- 
can arm}' at Ticonderoga; discharged the tirst of following 
December. Length of service five and one-half months. Paid 
a bounty of £G and one month's pay, £3 18s, and travel, in 
advance, 4s; total, £10 2s. The regiment was ordered to 
rendezvous at Haverhill on the Connecticut River. XIV, 
333. A member of Captain Alexander Robbe's company 
which answered the Ticonderoga alarm. Enlisted June 29, 
1777; discharged, July 3; service live days. Total pay and 
travel, £1 15s lOd. XV, 101. 

Enlisted into Captain William Scott's company of Colonel 
Henley's (Mass.) regiment, afterward Colonel Jackson's, for 
three years. Reported as mustered by Nathaniel Barber, 
Muster Master, Boston, August 17, 1777. His name is on a 
paj'-roll of Captain Trescott's company, same regiment; on 
pay roll for April, 1778, dated at Providence, R. I. ; reported 
sick but present; on roll of Captain William Scott's com- 
pany, same regiment; on pay roll for November, 1778; and 
on roll of Continental pay accounts from July 0, 1777 (prob- 
ably the date of his enlistment) to May 29, 1779. Enlist- 
ment, for three years. Reported as deserted. Also on mus- 
ter roll for April, 1779, dated Pawtuxet, R. I. Reported on 
command at Newtown, Mass. Rolls, Vol. I, page 365. On 
Massachusetts rolls he is named as of Tewksbury and also of 
I'eterborough. In 1777, Massachusetts attempted to raise 
three regiments, the men to be drawn from all the States. 
Colonel Henley's regiment was one of these. The attempt 
failed, and Colonel Henley's regiment never full, was, in 
1779, consolidated with Colonel Henry Jackson's regiment 
and placed under the latter's command. 

His name disappears from all records with this entry on 
the roll of ''desertion," and his subsequent movements are 
unknown. 



Personal and Military Sketches. lYl 

Retire Bacon. Was the son of Michael and Margaret 
(Shattuckj Bacon, and was born in Salem, Mass., baptized 
April 17, 1720. He was a soldier in the French and Indian 
War in 1759. Married in Boxford, Mass., to Mary Hale, 
April 14, 1741. She died in 17G.3. For second wife he 
married Margaret Burnham, of Ipswich, Mass., August 27, 
1764. He lived in Ipswich in 17Go. In 1766 he moved to 
Sharon, N. H., where he made large purchases of land. 
Subsequently he removed to New Ipswich, X. H., where he 
afterward died on a date not recorded. It does not apijear 
that he was ever a resident of Peterborough, though the rolls 
so state. 

He enlisted May 16, 1775, into Lieutenant Ejjhraim 
Corey's company of Colonel William Prescott's (Mass.) 
regiment; served until December 31, 1775; term, seven 
months and 16 days. Residence, Peterborough. On a pay 
roll dated August 1, 1775, and was paid £5 14s Id. Mass. 
Rolls, Vol. I, page 422. In State Papers (N. H.) Vol. XV, 
page 750, he is on a roll of Captain Moses Harvey's com- 
pany, Colonel Jonathan Brewer's (Mass.) regiment, dated 
October 6, 1775, and his residence given Peterborough. See 
also Vol. XXX, 174. 



Andrew Bailey (or Bayley). He was a resident of 
Peterborough at the beginning of the war. Place and date 
of birth unknown. He married Ruth Emery in Cambridge, in 
1775 or 1776, probably while in the army. In 1779 he was 
chosen Fence Viewer, Town Records, Vol. 1, page 56. He lived 
in Peterborough in 1783, XIII, 184, and was a citizen in town 
in 1796, 1797, 1798, 1799 and 1800, and paid taxes for 
those years. After 1800 his name disappears from the 
records and, he either died or removed from town in that 
year. The exact date of his death is not found. 

Enlisted into Captain William Scott's company which 
answered the Lexington Alarm, April 19, 1775; rank. Cor- 
poral. Discharged, April 23d. Corporal in Captain Wil- 



17^ Peterborough in the Revolution. 

Ham Scott's company of Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's regi- 
ment, enlisted April 23, 1775; discharged December 31st; 
term eight months, seven days. On muster roll of same 
company, August 1, 1775, and also on return dated October 
Gth. Mass. Rols, Vol I, Ul, 463, 828. State Papers, N. H., 

XV, 739. Mustered into Captain William Harper's company 
of Colonel Isaac Wyman's regiment, raised to reinforce 
army in Canada, July 16, 177G ; discharged December 1 ; ser- 
vice, four months, fifteen days ; was paid a bounty of £G and 
one months' pay (£3), and travel £3 18s, in advance, XIV, 
312. The regiment rendezvoused at Haverhill on the Con- 
necticut Eiver. Enlisted into Captain William Barron's 
company of Colonel Moses Nichols's regiment, raised by the 
State for defense of the United States, July 6, 1780; dis- 
charged October 22, 1780. Term, three months, 16 days. 
Wages, £134 per month. Total wages, travel and rations, 
£562 Is. See N. E. Hist. Gen. Regr., Vol. 21, page 387. 

XVI, 145. Total service, one year. 

(One Andrew Bay ley, of Hollis, served eight months in 
Captain Spaulding's company of Colonel James Reed's regi- 
ment in 1775. XIV, 87, 200; and eight months in Captain 
Frye's company in the Continental Line in 1777. XIV, 573, 
640; XVI, 26. Another of that name, probably the same 
man, was in Captain Timothy Clements's company of Col- 
onel David Oilman's regiment, in 1776. XIV, 301, 303.) 



Jacob Baldwin. W^as born in Townsend, Mass., in 1760, 
and was the son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Lewis) Baldwin. 
He afterward went to Dunstable, Mass., where he was living 
in 1775. In 1781 he was residing in Peterborough. After 
the war he removed to Jaffrey, N. H., where he remained 
until his death. He married Sally Turner, of Jaffrey, in 
January, 1780, and died in that town, October 13, 1844, aged 
84 years. 

Enlisted into Captain Hewett Root's company of Colonel 
John Ashley's regiment, July 8, 1777; discharged at Fort 



Personal and Military Sketches. 173 

Edward, N. Y., July 21, 1777. Term, 13 days. On tlie same 
day he enlisted into Captain Ephraim Fitch's company of 
the same Colonel Ashley's regiment; discharged August 14, 
1777. Term, 25 days. There is no existing military roll 
showing his service in the Saratoga Campaign. October 
23, 1779, he enlisted as a private into Captain Solomon Pol- 
lard's ' company of Colonel Samuel Denny's regiment, and 
was discharged at Clavernack, N. Y., December 4, 1779. 
Service, one month, ten days. Enlisted for three months. 
His company was detached to join the Continental Army. 
Eoll dated at Billerica, Mass. He is on a descriptive list of 
men raised to reinforce the Continental Army for the term of 
six months, in 1780. Age, 20 years; stature, five feet, nine 
inches; complexion, freckled; residence, Dunstable. Ar- 
rived in Springfield, July 3, 1780; marched to camp, July 

3, 1780, under command of Lieutenant Daniel Fry, of the 
artificers ; also on pay roll for six months' men raised by the 
Town of Dunstable for service in the Continental Army 
during 1780. Marched, June 28, 1780; discharged, Decem- 
ber 9, 1780. Term, five months, 22 days. Also private in 
Captain Matthew Chambers's company Sixth (Mass.) regi- 
ment. Pay roll for service from August 1, 1780, to December 

4, 1780 — four months, nine days. 3Iass. Rolls., Vol. 1, page 
518. 

He was mustered, October 4, 1781, into a regiment com- 
manded by Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Reynolds, for service 
at West Point, in the Continental Army. Discharged, De- 
cember 21st ; service, two months, 18 days. Amount of wages 
at 40s per month, £5 4s. XVI, 247, 25Jf. For this service 
the State paid him £5 4s depreciation money, December 10, 
1784. XX, 248. This service was to the credit of Peter- 
borough; the others to Massachusetts. In his application 
for pension he says : 

"1. — That in the month of September, 1777, he enlisted in 
the company of Captain John Ford, marched from Dun- 
stable, now Tyngsboro, Mass. Marched to Bennington, Vt. 
Was then ordered to Stillwater, but before arriving there 



174 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

was ordered to Saratoga; encamped, as he thinks, at a place 
called Batterskill. Was then ordered to Fort Edward, and 
thence in a few days marched back to Saratoga on the east 
side of the river, and was there at the time of (Jeneral Bur- 
goyne's surrender, and after went to Stillwater, where 1 
was dismissed after thirty days' service. 

"2. — That about the first of August, 1779, he enlisted as 

private in Massachusetts Militia. Company of 

Pollard, John Lewis, Lieutenant, and Benjamin Needham, 
Orderly Sergeant. That he engaged for three months, and 
soon after marched by way of Springfield and Albany to a 
place called New City, now Lansingburg, N. Y. The Cap- 
tain Pollard's company was stationed at said New City, and 
1 do not know what for nor do I recollect that any other 
troops were there. He was dismissed after serving as near 
as I can recollect, two months, though he had engaged for 
three. Most of the company were dismissed at the same 
time. 

"3. — That in June, 1780, I enlisted in the Continental 
Army for six months in Captain Chambers's company. Col- 
onel Nixon's regiment. General Nixon's brigade. Passed 
muster at Concord, Mass., marched through Worcester, 
Springfield and Litchfield to West Point; from there 
marched to various i)laces in New Jersey, and returned to 
West Point in the fall of the year, where he stayed till 
December, and was then discharged. 

"4. — That in September, 1781, I enlisted for three months 
in the Continental Army ; went from Peterboro, N. H., where 
he then was to Amherst, N. H., and j)assed muster there. 
From there went to Worcester and Springfield, INIass., then 
to Litchfield and Danbury, Conn., then to Fishkill on North 
River, where we went on aboard a sloop, and up the river to 
Albany. Lay there as near as he can recollect, three weeks. 
Was then marched to Saratoga, where he was stationed till 
about the last of December, when, having served his time, he 
was discharged. Belonged to company of Captain Benjamin 
Ellis, as he was told, and a regiment at that commanded 
by Major William Scott. Captain Ellis never joined the 
company. But few troops there. ITad mostly gone to 
Southward as he understood. 

''I was born in Billerica, Mass., 17(10. Tlave no record 
of my age, but suppose there is one in Billerica or Town- 
send where T moved when quite young. Lived in Dunstable 
when called to the service, except the last time, and then I 



Personal and MiUtary Sketches. 175 

lived in Peterboro, X. H. Have lived since the war in 
Jaffrev aforesaid. He volunteered every time. I was 
stationed on the east side of the river at Saratoga, where 
there were but few troops. Don't recollect what OflScers or 
Regiments were there. Second time does not recollect that 
any other trooj)S were there. Supposes he was stationed 
there as guard. In the six months" service in New York he 
recollects a General Howe, and Baron Steuben. Passed 
muster before the last. He also recollects Captain Spurr. 
Last time he was out, recollects Adjutant Bill of the Second 
Kegiment, and Adjutant Mills or Forest! ?) of the First 
Regiment. 

'•I received a discharge from the service when I served six 
months, but have lost it, and do not recollect by whom it 
was given. I also had one for the last time, and gave to 
Judge Smith of Exeter to draw my wages, but some person 
had forged an order and got the wages, and I never got the 
discharge back. The Rev. Galen Timsworthi ?) (Laban Ains- 
worthj and Deacon David Gillmore live near me in said 
Jaffrey and can testify as to my character and veracity, and 
belief in my services as a soldier of the Revolution. 

(Signed) Jacob (his mark) Baldwin." 



John Baelow. Xothing is known of him, except that 
he settled in Danby, Vt., was taxed there from 1780 to 
1790, and married Deborah Wilder, aside from his military 
service. His name first api)ears on a roll dated September 
8, 1778, of Captain Robert Campbell's company of Colonel 
Moses Hazen's regiment. Enlisted for the war. XTII. 306. 

John Barlow, the Peterborough soldier, is on the rolls 
of the Sixth Company of Colonel Joseph Cilley's regiment, 
in 1781. Paid £19 lO-s-. XTT, 269. Enlisted October 6, 
1781 : discharged, December, 1781. Kidder's History. First 
y. H. Regiment. Ordered placed on the rolls to the credit 
of Peterborough by Committee of Safety, July 12, 1782. By 
this order it appears that he was .serving in the army to the 
credit of the towTi in 1782, and if Kidder's statement is 
correct he re-enlisted after the expiration of his service in 
1781, but no rolls of this service have been found. N. H. 
Historical Collections. Vol. Till, page 291. See XYI, 517. 
He died at some time prior to 1833. 



176 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

Jonathan Barnett (or Barnard) . He was a resident of 
Society Laud (now Hancock and Antrim) in 1770, and on 
August 29th signed a petition for the incorporation of the 
town of Antrim. XI, 107. He afterwards removed to 
Peterborough, where he resided until 1701, when he i-eturned 
to Hancock. Afterwards he came back to Peterborough, 
where he died about 1807. History of Hancoch, pages 5 and 
331 

He was a private in Captain William Scott's company 
which answered the Lexington Alarm, April 19, 1775. Dis- 
charged, April 23d; service, three days. Ke-cnlisted into 
Captain Scott's company of Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's 
regiment, April 23d; discharged, December 31, 1775; term, 
eight months and seven days. On pay roll of August 1, 

1775, and was paid ; on return dated October G, 

1775, and receipted for bounty coat, November 11, 1775. 
See Mass Rolls, Vol. 1, page 633. His residence is there 
given as Peterborough and Society Land. In State Papers, 
Vol. XV, 740, which is the same service, he is accredited to 
Society Land. Place and date of birth undiscovered. 



John Blair, Sr. There are two of this name on the 
military rolls of New Hampshire, and several on the Massa- 
chusetts rolls. John Blair, Sr., was born about 1717. He 
came to Peterborough from Groton, Mass., after October, 
1754. His first wife's name was Nancy (or Agnes as it was 
sometimes written) Brown, whom he married in Boston, 
September 10, 1744. His second wife was INIary Freeman. 
His three oldest children, viz: Esther (born February 2G, 
1746, died April 26, 1751) ; Mary and William (See Dr. 
Smith's Genealogies, page 18), were born in Groton, the 
others in Peterborough. He died in Peterborough, March 9, 
1780, aged 63 years. The following is taken from the Bos- 
ton Evening Post of October 7, 1754 : 

"Ran away from John Blair of Groton, an Irish stout and 
lusty Servant ^lan about twenty-one Years of Age, named 



Personal and Military Sketches. Ill 

John Casey, a Cooper by Trade : Had on when he went away 
a light Bearskin Coat with Brass Buttons, a striped Jacket, 
a pair of brown Cloth Breeches, with Mohair Buttons, and a 
pair of ribbed Stockings. Whoever shall take up said Run- 
away, and bring him to his Master in Groton, or to Mr, 
William Hall, of Boston, Leather-Dresser, shall have Four 
Dollars Reward, and all necessary charges paid. 

"All Masters of Vessels and others, are hereby required 
not to conceal or carry off said Servant as they would 
answer it in the Law." 

John Blair was a private in Captain William Scott's 
company which answered the Lexington Alarm, April 19, 
1775. Discharged April 23d ; service, three days. April 23, 
1775, he re-enlisted into Captain William Scott's company 
of Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment for eight months. 
On pay roll dated August 1st and on a return of the com- 
pany dated October 6, 1775. Mass. Rolls, Vol. II, pages 
111, 166. XV, 739. In August, 1775, he enlisted into 
Captain William Kendrick's company, in General Arnold's 
expedition to Quebec. Was in the battle of December 31st, 
under the walls of Quebec, and taken prisoner. Those cap- 
tured were confined in the French Convent, and were put 
on rations of bread and a jill of rum a day. Was paroled 
and sent home August 7, 1776. N. E. Hist, and Genealogi- 
cal Register, Vol. VI, pages 128-134. Order for bounty 
coat dated Boston, November 14, 1775. 

Enlisted as a private in Captain Stephen Parker's com- 
pany of Colonel Moses Nichols's regiment, July 19, 1777, and 
took part in the campaigns at Bennington and Stillwater; 
discharged, September 20, 1777; service, two months, two 
days; wages, £4 10s per month. Total pay and travel, £10 
14s 8d. XV, 221. Also a private in Captain Samuel Cun- 
ningham's company of Colonel Enoch Hale's regiment in the 
Rhode Island Campaign of 1778. Enlisted August 10, 1778 ; 
discharged, August 28th ; service, 21 days. Two days extra 
were allowed for travel home. Wages, £5 per month. Total 
pay and travel, £11 2s. XV, 538. 

The History of New Boston says that a John Blair of 

13 



178 Pctcrhorongh in the Revolution. 

that town was a Revolutionary soldier, but existing rolls do 
not show it. The rolls do show that John Blair, Sr,, of 
Peterborough, rendered the above services, and his son, John 
Blair, 2d, served the enlistment described under his name. 
See next sketch. 



John Blair, 2d. Was the son of John Blair of the pre- 
ceding sketch. Born in 1763, in Peterborough. After the 
war he removed to Newburgh, New York, where he died, 
January 26, 1824. 

Enlisted into Captain William Scott's company of 
Colonel Henry Jackson's (Mass.) regiment, July 24, 1777, 
for three years or during the war. On list of men mustered 
in Suffolk County, Mass., August 31, 1777. On roll of Cap- 
tain Lemuel Trescott's company. Colonel David Henley's 
regiment. Enlistment, three years or during the war; also 
private in Captain Fox's company, Colonel Jackson's regi- 
ment. Also, on roll of Continental pay accounts for service 
from July 24, 1777, to December 31, 1779, as drummer in 
Captain Joseph Fox's company, same regiment; reported 
reduced to the ranks, November 1, 1778 ; also on roll of Cap- 
tain William Scott's company. Colonel David Henley's 
(Mass.) regiment for November, 1778, and on muster roll 
for April, 1779, dated at Pawtuxet, R. I.; reported on com- 
mand at Newtown, Mass. Enlisted January 7, 1780, by Col- 
onel Jackson; enlistment for the war returned by Major 
Lemuel Trescott of Ninth Massachusetts regiment. 

He is on the roll of Continental pay accounts from 
January 1, 1780, to December 31, 1780, and on the pay roll 
for June and July, 1780; reported sick and absent on a de- 
scriptive list of enlisted men dated at Hutt's, near West 
Point, January 28, 1781, as follows: Age, 16 years; 
stature, five feet, four inches; complexion, fair; hair, light; 
occupation, yeoman ; residence, ^Tittsborough," Hillsborough 
County, New Hampshire. Enlistment, January 1, 1780, for 
the war. Mass. Rolls, Vol. II, 119, 166. 



Personal and Military Sketches. 179 

On the rolls of New Hampshire men serving in Colonel 
Jackson's regiment, his residence is given — Peterborough. 
XVI, Ifi and 54- See also XVI, 101 (where he was paid 
£15), also 213, SOS, 517, 794, and XV, 427. He is on the pay 
roll of the Ninth Company of Colonel Alexander Scammell's 
regiment, along with other Peterborough soldiers serving 
in Colonel Jackson's regiment for service prior to January 
1, 1780, to equalize the pay of soldiers on account of the 
depreciation of the currency, and was paid |161. XV, 7SS. 
Is on a simlar roll of the Tenth Company of same regiment 
for service in 1780, and was paid |80. XVI, 213. Also on 
a roll of the Ninth Company of same regiment for 1781, and 
was paid |S0. XVI, 279. When the town finally settled 
with the soldiers in 1786, there was found to be due him for 
one year and two months' service, £11 13s id. Town 
Records Vol. I, 125. Date of his discharge not given. 
Whole service, over seven years. A copy of his application 
for pension is given herewith : 

''That in the month of July, the year 1777, he enlisted in 
a Company commanded by Captain William Scott, 16th 
INIass. Regt, at that time commanded by Colonel Henley. 
That about 18 months afterwards, this Regt was Reduced 
to the l)th, commanded by Colonel Henry Jackson, and he, 
the said John, was attached to Captain Joseph Fox's Com- 
pany, and that he Served in this same Regt. until the month 
of June, 1783, when he was Discharged at New Windsor in 
the State of N, Y. That he belonged to Capt. Haskins' Co. 
at the time of the Discharge. That his Discharge was 
Honorable, and signed by General Washington. That he 
since gave this Discharge to Jonathan Fisk, then a member 
of Congress, to procure a Grant of land. But he could never 
learn that any applicaton had been made in his behalf, nor 
has he since been able to procure his Discharge. That he is 
now 55 years of age, and by reason of Reduced Circum- 
stances is in need of the Assistance of his Country for 
Support. 

(Signed) John Blair." 

Under the law of 1820 he filed the following statement 
in regard to his circumstances ; 



180 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

"He solemnly swears that he has no income other than 
contained in the following inventory, by me subscribed. 

SCHEDULE. 

No Real Estate. 

Personal Estate— One Cow, worth |20.00 

One Hog, worth 8.00 

And a few articles of kitchen furniture. 
He has no occupation and is unable to work. His family 
consists of a Wife, aged 43 years. — One Girl named Lydia, 
able to work. One P>oy, aged 16, named Annanias, in ill 
health, and two other Boys, named Samuel and George, 
about 12 years of age. 

(Signed) John (his mark) Blair." 

-r:;- i| >^; ■ ' .. 

CLAIM of Samuel Blair, Son of John, Pensioner. 

Dept. of War, State of New York, Orange Co. 
"I, Samuel Blair, Son and Heir-at-Law of John Blair, do 
upon oath declare * * * that I have never received the 
Warrant for Bounty Land, promised to said John Blair on 
the part of tlie United States." 

LETTER to George W. Howell, Goshen, N. Y. 

"I therefore herewith send Land Warrant, No. 1,812, for 
100 acres, issued in their names." 
(Samuel Blair — Son, 
Lydia Blair 
Mary Miller 
Elizabeth Goodman) Daughters 

Heirs at law of John Blair, 

Pensioner." 
(Signed) William Gordon. 

Warrant for Land Bounty for Revolutionary Service, 
granted to the Children of John Blair." 



William Blair. Son of John Blair, Sr. (see ante), 
brother of John Blair, preceding, and was born in Groton, 
Mass., May 21, 1751. Married Elizabeth Little, daughter 
of Thomas Little, December 2, 1787. He was a resident of 
the town all his life, and died October 13, 1825, aged 75 
years, 4 months and 23 days. Was a member of Captain 
Alexander Robbe's company of militia in January, 177G. 



Personal and Military Sketches. 181 

Enlisted into Captain Alexander Robbe's company which 
answered the Ticonderoga Alarm, June 29, 1777 ; discharged, 
July 3d; service, five days. Total pay and travel, £1 15s 
lOd. XV, 101. Enlisted into Captain Stephen Parker's 
company, Colonel Moses Nichols's regiment, July 19, 1777; 
discharged, September 20th; terms, two months, two days. 
Paid as wages and travel, £10 18s 6(Z. XY, 221. Enlisted 
into Captain Edmund Briant's (New Ipswich) company, 
Colonel Daniel Moore's regiment, September 28, 1777; dis- 
charged, October 25 ; service, 28 days. Total pay and travel, 
£6 19s. XV, 356. While in Colonel Nichols's regiment he 
took part in the battle of Bennington. 

Monday, April 15, 1778. 
"To see if the town will allow Captain John Taggart £10 
10s paid by him to William Blair in July last, in order to 
hire him to go into the war." 

Records of Town of Sharon. 

June 19, 1778, he enlisted to the credit of Townsend, 
Mass., into Captain Rob's company of Colonel Haill's regi- 
ment. On roll of Captain Josiah Smith's company of Colonel 
Thomas Marshall's (Mass.) regiment for the term of nine 
months, from the date of arrival at Fishkill, N. Y. Dis- 
charged March 19, 1779. Descriptive list: Age, 24 years; 
stature, five feet, eight inches ; residence, Peterborough. On 
the rolls his residence is given as Peterborough and Town- 
send, Mass., and enlisted June 19, 1778. Mass Bolls, Vol. 
II, 122. Enlisted April 28, 1778. N. H. State Papers, XV, 
75^. In his application for pension he says he enlisted in 
March, 177G, into Captain Pope's company of Colonel Sar- 
gent's regiment, and served one year and six months, but no 
such record can be found on any printed roll either of New 
Hampshire or Massachusetts. His application also says he 
enlisted in May, 1778, in Captain Flower's company of 
Colonel Greaton's regiment, served a month or more, and 
on June 19, 1778, joined Captain Smith's company of Colonel 
Marshall's regiment. 



182 Peterborough in the ReDotutioii. 

Zaccheus Brooks. Nothing is known of him beyond 
his military service, and the fact that he served on the quota 
of the town. He was not a member of Captain Alexander 
Kobbe's company of Peterborough militia. 

Probably a hired recruit. Mustered to the credit of 
Peterborough for the war out of Colonel Enoch Hale's regi- 
ment of militia, June 15, 1779, to fill up the Continental 
army that year. XV, 630, 6Jf6. Was paid a bounty by the 
State of £90 and by Congress of £GU. XVI, 792. Was 
assigned to one of the three New Hampshire regiments in 
the Continental service. On a return of men serving for 
the war in the Continental Line in 1780, for the town of 
Peterborough, he is described as a ''Transhant." XVI, 794- 
He is on a list of men raised by the State whose term and 
time of enlistment are not specified, and dated 1780. XVI, 
102. A record of town returns, see XVI, 517, says he 
"never joined," but this is an error. He served three years, 
and then disappears from view. 



John Burns. Was the son of John Burns of New Bos- 
ton, and was born in that town, August 17, 1755. He con- 
tinued to live in New Boston after the war until 1801, or a 
year or two before, when he removed to Whitefield, N. H. 
He was a Major in the militia and served in the War of 1812. 
He died in Whitefield, N. H., :May G, 1852, aged 9G years, 
nine months. He was in the battle of Bunker Hill, and was 
present at the dedication of the monument, June 17, 1843. 
At his death he was supposed to be the oldest survivor of 
those actually in the fight. 

He enlisted into Captain Gordon Hutchins's company of 
Colonel Stark's regiment. May 4, 1775. On a pay roll of 
August 1, 1775, and was paid for wages, coat and blanket 
and travel, £8 8s 2d. XIV, 64, 186, XVII, J,. He enlisted 
out of Captain Hutchins's company into Captain Henry 
Dearborn's company which went, in the fall of 1775, to 
Quebec. Residence, New Boston ; age, 20 years ; occupation, 
a joiner. XIV, 210. He was taken prisoner at the battle 



Personal and Military Sketches. 183 

of Quebec, December 31. N. E. Hist. Gen. Register, Vol. 
VI, page 133. In February (7th) 1776, John Burns, at 
Winter Hill, receipted for milk money due liim from October 
4 to December 24, 1775, certifying that he was then a member 
of Captain Gordon Hutchins's company. XVI, 926. He 
was also a private in Captain William Barron's company, of 
Colonel Isaac Wyman's regiment, raised to reinforce the 
army in Canada, in 1776. Mustered and paid July 16, 1776. 
Bounty, £6; one month's pay and travel, £3 18s. XIV, 331, 
690. XVII, 64. Discharged, October 26, 1776. XIV, 699. 
He also enlisted into Captain William Boyce's company of 
Colonel William Kelley's regiment for service in Rhode 
Island in 1778. Enlisted August 7, discharged August 27th ; 
service, 23 days. Total pay and travel, £11 19s M. XV, 
553. 

The only military service rendered for Peterborough 
with which he is directly accredited is as private in Lieu- 
tenant Colonel Daniel Reynolds's regiment, raised to fill up 
the Continental Army in 1781. Mustered, October 4; dis- 
charged, December 21 ; service, two months, 18 days ; wages, 
40s per month. Total pay, £5 4s. Residence, Peterborough. 
XVI, 247 and 254. 

In his application for a pension he says he enlisted into 
Captain Daniel Wilkins's company. Colonel Timothy Bedel's 
regiment, February 8, 1776, and served till January 8, 1777. 
The printed rolls of Captain Wilkins's company do not show 
any such man. See Vol. XIV, 266, 261, 288, 292. The rolls 
do show him in Captain Barron's company of Colonel 
Wyman's regiment, as above. See list of Captain Barron's 
company and diary of Lieutenant Jonathan Burton in XIV, 
690. The service of Wyman's and Bedel's regiments was 
in Canada. 

(A John "Beams" (Burns) of Bedford, N. H., enlisted 
into Captain Jonas Kidder's company of Colonel Moses 
Nichols's regiment in 1780. On service at West Point. 
Entered service, July 5th, discharged October 23d. Time, 
three months, twenty days. Pay per month, £134, Total 



184 Petcrliorongli in the Revolution. 

pay, travel and rations, £577 5s. XVI, 14I, 161. He 
was born in Milford ( ?), N. H., March 28, 1732. 

There was also a John Burns, of Milford or Amherst, in 
Captain Moses Hart's company of Colonel Paul Dudley 
Sargent's regiment, at the siege of Boston in 1775. This 
man was born in Bedford, N. H., September 20, 1759). 



John Butler. John Butler was the son of John and 
Elizabeth (Howe) Butler, and was born in Hopkinton, 
Mass., March 28, 1729. His parents subsequently lived in 
Framingham, Mass. The son was a soldier in the French 
and Indian \Yar in 1759. In 1758, or thereabouts, he sold 
his real estate in Framingham to Jonathan Gibbs and Jona- 
than Brewer, and mov^ed to Peterborough. He married 
Hannah, daughter of Micah and Abigail (Fames) Drury in 
Framingham, about 1761. In 1775 he was a resident of 
Peterborough, where he signed the Association Test in 1776, 
and was on the "Alarm List" of Captain Alexander Kobbe's 
company of militia that year. He died March 10, 1795, 
probably in Cavendish, Vt., as his family removed from that 
town to Framingham after his death. There is no record of 
his death in Peterborough. 

Was Adjutant of Colonel Jonathan Brewer's (Mass.) 
regiment in 1775, Commissioned April 24, 1775 — dis- 
charged December 31st; service, eight months, six days. 
Mass. Rolls, Yol. II, page 949. N. H. S. Papers, XXX, 176. 
Is also on a roll of the field and stafif oflScers of that regi- 
ment dated August 1, 1775. The further service of Adju- 
tant Butler, if any, is not discovered. 

(A John Butler served in Captain Daniel Carlisle's 
company of Colonel Timothy Bedel's regiment in 1776. XIV, 
26Jf, and was taken prisoner at the '^Cedars" in Canada, May 
21, 1776. XXX, U9. Another, from Berwick, Me., was in 
Captain Caleb Hodgdon's company. Colonel Pierce Long's 
regiment, same year. XIV, 368, 375. Probably the same 
man in Captain Abraham Perkins's company, Colonel Long's 
regiment, in 1776, 1777. XIV, J,83, J,98, 502, 511, 518. Also 



Personal and Military Sketches. 185 

a John Butler from Dunstable among the absentees from 
Colonel Joseph Cilley's regiment, in 1778. Enlisted for three 
years. XIV, 573, 600. Reported missing, July 7, 1777. XV, 
437, in Captain Emerson's company. Enlisted April 1, 
1777. XV, 615. On depreciation roll for service up to Janu- 
ary 1, 1780, allowed £8. XV, 715. None of these three men 
are identical with John Butler of Peterborough.) 



Samuel Caldwell. Was the son of James and Mar- 
garet Caldwell, and was born in Windham, N. H., March 12, 
1751. Whether he ever lived in Peterborough cannot be 
definitely ascertained. Probably he visited there some of 
the time between 1775 and 1783, but it is uncertain. The 
place and date of his death have not been discovered. 

He enlisted into Captain William Scott's company of 
Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment, at the Lexington 
Alarm, April, 1775. Discharged, April 23d. Service, three 
days. Re-enlisted into the same company and regiment at 
Cambridge, April 23, 1775. Discharged, December 31st. 
Term, eight months, eight days. Rolls say from Windham. 
Mass. Rolls, Vol. Ill, page 19. N. H. Rolls, Vol. XV, 7JfO. 

A member of Captain Samuel Cunningham's company of 
Colonel Enoch Hale's regiment for service in Rhode Island in 
1778. Enlisted August 10th; discharged, August 28th. 
Service, 21 days. Wages, £5 10s per month. Total pay 
and travel, £11 2s. XV. 539. 

(There were several of the name in the army. Samuel, 
son of Samuel and Elizabeth Caldwell, born in 1750, lived in 
Weare, Antrim, and again in Weare, where he died in 1831. 
Private in Captain John Moore's company of Colonel John 
Stark's regiment, in 1775, serving eight months. XIV, 58,, 
183. Enlisted into Captain Nathaniel Hutchins's company 
ol Colonel Joseph Cilley's regiment for three years. Rank, 
Sergeant. Enlisted, July 3, 1777; discharged in July, 1780. 
XV, 653,717. XVI,202,872,873. XXX, Jf98, 501, 504, 507 , 
509, 510, 512, 513, 515, 516, 519. He was a United States 
pensioner. A Samuel Caldwell of New Boston served in 



186 Petcrhoroiigh in the Revolution. 

Captain Boyce's company in Colonel Kel ley's regiment in 
Rhode Island, in 1778. XV, 552. XVII, 259, and in the 
same regiment in 1779. XV, 622, 634, 644, »"<! ^ilso in Cap- 
tain Livermore's company, Colonel Alexander Scammel's 
regiment, in 1779. XVI, 32, 34, 187, 210, 211, 153, 154- A 
Samuel Caldwell, probably the father of the man serving in 
1775 in Captain William Scott's company, was in Captain 
Aaron Quimby's company, in Colonel Kel ley's regiment 
(service in Rhode Island) in 1778. A'V'^ 550; and in Captain 
Peter Clark's company of Colonel Daniel Moore's regiment 
in 1777. XV, 350, 352. There was a Samuel Caldwell in 
Captain McConnell's company of Colonel David Oilman's 
regiment in 1770. XIV, 537. Whether this man was from 
Hudson, or was the Peterborough soldier cannot be deter- 
mined. The Hudson Samuel Caldwell enlisted into Captain 
Daniel Emerson's company of Colonel Joshua Wingate's 
regiment in 1776, and served about five months. XIV, 346. 
See also XIV, 459, and XVII, 18, 19 and 60.) 



William Cochran. Was the son either of Hobart and 
Abigail Cochran, and born January 9, 173G, or the son of 
William and Janet ('ochran, and born December 28, 1740. 
He was a resident of the town before the war, and in 1771 
was chosen tithing man, and was resident there in 1773. 
He probably went to Stoddard soon after the Revolution. 
Born in Londonderry. Place and date of death unknown. 
He was a blacksmith by trade, and one of the earliest me- 
chanics in town. 

He was a member of Captain William Scott's company 
which answered the Lexington Alarm, April 19, 1775. Ser- 
vice, three days. Enlisted into Captain William Scott's 
company of Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment, April 
23, 1775. Commissioned Second Lieutenant. On muster 
roll of same company and regiment dated August 1, 1775. 
On return of same company dated October 6, 1775, but his 
name is crossed oil. It cannot be stated, from the entry on 



Pergonal and Military SketcJies. 187 

this return, how long he served. The company was in 
service until December 31st. Residence, Peterborough and 
Stoddard. Mass. Rolls, Vol. HI, page 69S. N. H. State 
Papers, Vol. XV, 740. Is claimed by Stoddard for this 
enlistment. XVI, 839. 



Joseph Covell.* He was a resident of the town in 1775, 
and his name is on the roll of Captain Alexander Robbe's 
company of militia in January, 1770, but is not attached to 
the Association Test. Date and place of birth, also of death, 
unknown. He was living in Peterborough in 1790, and the 
town abated his taxes for the year 1788. He is one of the 
many Peterborough soldiers who disappeared from view 
soon after the war closed. A hired recruit. He died in 
Vermont, perhaps in the town of Springfield, though the 
history of that town does not refer to him. 

Enlisted into Captain Ephraim Stone's company under 
command of Major Benjamin Whitcomb for service on the 
Western Frontier in 1780, to serve six months. Enlisted, 
July 9th; discharged, November 27th. Service, four 
months, 17 days. Was paid a balance of £650 17s (ratio 
of 67 to 1). Equal in good money to £9 14s Sd. XVI, 
167. The town presented a claim for £75 paid him for 
travel to Haverhill for this service. XVI, 793. In 1781 he 
served four months in a battalion of rangers commanded by 
Captain Peter Page, of Charlestown, N. H. For this service 
he was paid by the State of Vermont. 



James Cunningham. Son of Thomas Cunningham by 
his first wife. Was born in Townseud, Mass., in 1744. He 
married Elizabeth Nay, daughter of Deacon William and 
Mary E. B. McNee (Nay.) In 1775 was one of tlie Select- 
men of Peterborough, tithing man in 1774, 1780 and 1783. 
One of the Committee of Safety in 1779. He died in 
Peterborough, October 29, 1826, aged 82 years. 

* Probably same man as Charles Cowall. See ante page 27. 



188 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

His only military service was as private in Captain 
Samuel Cunningham's company of Colonel Enoch Hale's 
regiment, in 1778. Enlisted August 10, 1778; discharged, 
August 28th; term, 21 days (two days extra being allowed 
for travel.) Wages, £5 per month. Total pay and travel, 
£11 2s XV J 538. His name is not found on any other roll. 



Robert Cunningham^ (Jr.). Born in 1759, either in 
Derryfield or Londonderry. He was not of the branch of 
that family which settled in Peterborough, but was, per- 
haps, related to it. Enlisted into Captain James Gray's 
company of Colonel Thomas Marshall's (Mass.) regiment, 
May 30, 1770; discharged, ]SIovember 1, 1776; term, five 
months, two days. Residence, Peterborough. Mass. Bolls, 
Vol. IV, page 232. Accredited to Peterborough in N. H. 
State Papers, Vol. XV, 753. Probably a resident 
of Derryfield. Enlisted into Captain Wait's company. 
Colonel Cilley's regiment, April 18, 1777, for three years; 
town, Derryfield. Enlisted for Derryfield, XV, 612. By 
another roll he is given as from Amherst, and was paid a 
bounty of £25, enlisting April 27. XIV, 603. On deprecia- 
tion rolls for service prior to 1780, and was paid |170,80. 
XV, 712. On a similar roll for service in 1780, and was paid 
$24.40. XVI, 199. Re-enlisted into the Continental service, 
March 20, 1781, to the credit of Peterborough, for three 
years, and was paid a bounty of £20. XVI, 236. Dis- 
charged, probably, at the close of the war. In Kidder's 
History of First New Hampshire Regiment, his residence is 
stated to be Amherst. Date and place of death unknown. 
Total service, nearly seven years. 

(A Robert Cunningham enlisted into Captain Isaac Bald- 
win's, afterward Captain Hale's, company of John Stark's 
regiment, April 23, 1775; served eight mouths, XIV, 51. 
Receipted for money in lieu of bounty coat, October 4, 1775. 
XIV, 185. A Robert Cunningham was in Captain Hen- 
drick's company and was with General Arnold at Quebec, 



Personal and Military Sketches. 189 

and was taken prisoner. Keleased the following July. 
Robert Cunningham, the Peterborough soldier, may have been 
this man's son. See New England Hist, and Gen. Register, 
Vol. VI, pages 129-134. May have been the same man enlist- 
ing into Captain Richard's company of Colonel Cilley's 
regiment for three years, April 27, 1777. Residence, Derry- 
field. XIV, 572. Probably the same man (second R. C. on 
roll) on roll in XIV, 603, whose residence is given Amherst. 
Was on roll of absentees from Colonel Cilley's regiment, 
dated Valley Forge, January 10, 1778. 

Descriptive list — Residence, Merrimack; age, 49 years; 
height, five feet, seven inches; hair, grey; eyes, gray; com- 
plexion, light. XV, 435. On depreciation rolls for service 
prior to 1780, and was paid |84.51. XV, 712. On rolls for 
service in 1781, and was paid |G2.20. XVI, 268. A Robert 
Cunningham was a recruit in the Continental Army in 1780 ; 
served five months, 21 days. XVI, 85. Residence given, 
Derryfield. Also one of same name on roll for new levies 
for Continental Army. Mustered by Captain William Scott 
in 1779, age 22 years; residence, Dunbarton. XVI, 100. 
Also same name on roll of Captain Frye's company, Third 
New Hampshire Regiment. Enlisted July 1, 1780; dis- 
charged December 6, 1780. XVI, 195, 199. A Robert 
Cunningham, claimed by town of Litchfield, enlisting March 
20, 1781. Paid a bounty of £20. XVI, 236, 268, 511, 716. 

The identity of these Robert Cunninghams has not been 
traced. There were three or four by the name in service, 
and it is impossible to distinguish them from any existing 
data. The record of the one who served to the credit of 
Peterborough is, however, tolerably clear.) 



Samuel Cunningham. Was born in Lunenburg, Mass., 
July, 1738. A brother of James Cunningham, ante. Was 
in the French and Indian War. For his services there, see 
ante, page 6. For many years he was a prominent man in 
town, and active in its public affairs. Town Clerk in 1783, 



190 Peterborough in tJie Revolution. 

1784, 1785 and 1786; Selectman iu 17G8, 1776, 1779 and 
1781 ; a member of the Legislature in 1786. In 1775 he was 
a member of the Third Provincial Congress, which met at 
Exeter, April 21st of that year, but did not take his seat 
until April 25. He married Susannah M. Carter of Hollis. 
About the jear 1800 he removed with nine of his thirteen 
children from Peterborough to Belfast, Maine, where he 
died, March 16, 1829, aged 91 years. WilUatnson's History 
cf Belfast. He was a. staunch patriot, an able business man, 
and a useful, public-spirited citizen, of pure life and candid 
temper. 

Sergeant in Captain Alexander Robbe's company which 
answered the Ticonderoga Alarm in 1777. Enlisted June 
29th, discharged July 3d. Service, five days. Wages and 
travel, £1 17,s' 2(1. XT, 101. First Lieutenant in Captain 
Stephen Parker's companj' of Colonel Moses Nichols's regi- 
ment. Enlisted July 19, 1777; discharged, September 26th. 
Service, two months, eight days. Wages per month, £8 2s. 
Total pay and travel, £18 7s 2d. XV, 219 and 197. 

He was in the battle of Bennington, and subseqeuntly 
went with his regiment to Saratoga. Rev. Elijah Dunbar, 
in his description of the fight, relates this incident : In 
course of the action, Captain Parker's company, iu which 
Lieutenant Cunningham was an officer, when several miles 
from the main army, fell into an ambuscade of Tories. (This 
was probably the ambuscade in which Sergeant John Robbe 
was wounded. See sketch of John Robbe). Cunningham's 
coolness and consummate address supplied the want of 
numbers. With the noise of a lion, he called on an officer 
to bring up a body of 500 men to flank the Enemy. The 
Tories fled, leaving behind them their baggage and plunder, 
and an open, unmolested road to the Army. N. H. Histori- 
cal Collections. Vol. 1. page 

He was Captain of a company in Colonel Enoch Hale's 
regiment raised for the defence of Rhode Island in 1778. 
Commissioned, August 10, 1778; discharged, August 28th. 
Service, 21 days. Wages, £12 per month. Total pay, travel 



Personal and Military Sketches. 191 

and subsistence. £20 4s. XV, 538. The company was 
allowed for 52 horses at £10 each. XV, 540. 



Charles Davidson (or Davison). Was the son of Thomas 
and Anna (Wright) Davidson, and was born in Peter- 
borough, September 10, 1760. He lived in town all his life. 
Married Abigail Evans in June, 1785, and died in Peter- 
borough, December 31, 1831, aged 71 years. He was a mem- 
ber of Captain Alexander Robbe's company of militia in 
1776. 

July 9, 1779, he enlisted into Captain Ephraim Stone's 
company of Colonel Hercules Mooney's regiment raised for 
the defence of Rhode Island. Discharged, December 26th ; 
Term, five months, 18 days. Pay per month, £12; bounty, 
130; allowed £10 for travel to Rhode Island (XVI, 792). 
Total pay, travel and subsistence, £135 2s. XV, 680, 66Jf, 
665, 671. His bounty and travel to Providence were paid to 
his father — Hhomas Davidson. XIV, 792. The following 
were his terms of enlistment for this service: 

"We, the Subscribers do hereby Enlist ourSelves as Sol- 
diers Too Serve Six months in the State of Rhode Island 
form the time they joine the Army and do Promise obedience 
to the officers appointed by the General Assembly of said 
state to be set over us and to be subject to the Rules and 
Regulations of the Army." XV, 665. 



Thomas Davidson. Was a brother of Charles Davidson 
and son of Thomas and Ann (Wright) Davidson. He was 
born in Peterborough, December 20, 1758. Married Betsey 
Pierce of Dublin. 

Enlisted May 8, 1777, into Captain Josiah Brown's com- 
pany of Colonel Enoch Hale's regiment, which marched to 
the defence of Ticonderoga ; service, 47 days. Wages, £3 per 
month. Was allowed for 200 miles' travel at 2d per mile. 
Total pay and travel, £6 19s 4d XV, 21. A private in 
Captain Benjamin Spaulding's company of Colonel Moses 
Nichols's regiment, in 1780. Enlisted July 7, 1780; dis- 
charged, October 21st; term, three months, 15 days. The 



192 Peterhorough in the Revolution. 

regiment was raised to reinforce the army at West Point. 
Waj;es per month, £134 (ratio of G7 to 1). Amount of pay 
and travel, £(»10 Gs, XVI, 159. He lived in Jaffrey after 
the war, and died there April 1, 1832, aged 70 years. 



Solomon Dodge. Was the son of Robert and Lydia 
(Dodge) Dodge. Born in Beverly, Mass., November 8, 1759. 
He, probably with his parents, was a resident of Peterborough 
during the latter part of the Revolution. Married Nancy 
Taggart, a daughter of the James Taggart who was private 
in Captain Henry Jackson's (Mass.) regiment, in Peter- 
borough, March 10, 1787. In the spring of 1788 he went to 
Montpelier, Vt., with John Templeton, his brother-in-law, 
and his family followed him there in 1789. He died in 
Montpelier, Vt., August 8, 1831, aged 71 years. His first 
wife died in the same town in 1826, and his second wife also 
died there in 1833. He had eleven children by his first wife. 

Enlisted into Captain Peter Clark's company of Colonel 
Daniel Moore's regiment, which marched from Lynde- 
borougli in 1777 to join the American army at Saratoga, 
September 30, 1777; discharged, October 27th; service, 28 
days. Rank, Sergeant; pay per month, £4 18s. Total pay 
and travel, £7 12s 3d. XV, 350, 352. Was a recruit in the 
Continental Army for service at West Point in 1780. En- 
listed June 28th; discharged, December 6, 1780. Age, 20 
years. Service, five months, 18 days. Amount of wages, 
£750 8s ; allowance for blanket, £335 ; travel, £58 IGs. Ratio 
was 67 to 1. Total, £1144 4s. XVT, 82, 92, 106. 



William DucANNON (or Decannon) (or D Cannon). He 
was from Londonderry- So far as known he was never a 
resident of Peterborough, at least his name nowhere appears 
on any record or paper. Date and place of birth and death 
unknown. 

A private in the Fourth Company of Colonel George 
Reid's regiment. On the pay roll of same made up to 
equalize the pay of soldiers on account of the depreciation 



Personal and Military Sketches. 193 

of the currency for service prior to January 1, 1780, and was 
paid 134,75. XV, 722. On a similar roll for service in 1780, 
and was paid |80. XVI, 205. On a pay roll of same com- 
pany for service in 1781 and was paid $80. XVI, 273. On 
a list of soldiers made up by the town of Londonderry and 
accredited to Peterborough. XVI, 510. On Peterborough 
list of soldiers in 1781. Enlisted for the war. XVI, 794, 
517. Claimed as one of the Londonderry men by that town. 
XVI, 725. Service, three years. Date of enlistment and 
discharge not given. 



John Elliot. Was the son of John and Sarah (Wil- 
liams) Elliot, and was born in Bradford, Mass., July 7, 
1745. The father removed from Bradford to Mason some- 
time before 1775. The son, John, lived in Mason, then in 
Sharon, where he was residing in 1777, when he signed a 
petition of the residents of Sharon for the annexation of 
that town to Peterborough. XIII, 506. He was also a 
member of the Committee of Safety for Sharon in the 
same year, and was a tax-payer there in 1778. He 
subsequently removed to Dublin, N. H. He died 
March 4, 1827, probably in Hillsborough, N. H. His 
widow was granted a pension, June 15, 1838. The 
soldier was never pensioned. A brother, David Elliot, 
was also a soldier in the same company and regiment 
with John. Whether the soldier was ever a resident of 
Peterborough is very doubtful. 

Enlisted into Captain Ezra Towne's company of Colonel 
James Reed's regiment. May 18, 1775. Descriptive list: 
Born in Bradford (Mass.); residence, Peterborough; age, 
29 years; height, five feet, four inches; complexion, fair; 
eyes, gray. Vol. XVI, Mass. Archives, page 52^, Revo- 
lutionary Soldiers. On pay roll dated August 1, 1775, and 
on a return dated October, 1775, wages 40s per month. Paid 
to August 1st, £7 8s Id. XIV, 90. See Mass. Printed Rolls, 
Vol. V, page 273. Discharged, December 31, 1775. See 
also XIV, 201. Service, seven months, 13 days, 

14 



194 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

The following letter from David Elliot, the brother, ad- 
dressed to his father at Mason, N. H., filed in the Pension 
Office in the application of the widow of John for a pension, 
is of general interest : 

"June ye 21, 1775. 

"I think it my Dutey to inform you of the fight that we 
have had with the Troops, the 17 Day of June we began 
to intrench on bunkers hill which the enemy perceiving they 
began to fire from * * * the Shipping with their gret guns 
from about Daylight * * * of the Klock then the troops 
laying on the hill we were all called to meet them. Then 
we marched up the hill and the balls like hot hail untell the 
mi'le of the afternoon then we began with small arms, and it 
continued about one hour and a half then we retreated and 
are now on Winter Hill fortifying. 

"I desire to remember my Dutey to you and my mother 
and my love to all friends not knowing that I Shall ever 
See any of you again. I desire all of your Prayers for me 
that God would help me in the Hour of Trobble. I desire 
that you would bless God with me for his goodness to me 
in Priserving my life and limes when others fell by my Side 
in the Day of battle. 

"I would let you know that John and I are well at pres- 
ent and have not heard from vou since I came aweay. 

(Signed) David Eliot." 

(There were many John Elliots in the army, and it is 
impossible to distinguish them in all cases. A John Elliot 
enlisted April 26, 1775, into Captain Gordon Hutchins's 
company of Colonel John Stark's regiment, XVII, Jf, and 
served eight months, and then enlisted into Captain Isaac 

Sherman's company. Colonel Baldwin's (Mass.) 

regiment, and served till March, 1777, when he was dis- 
charged at Morristown, New Jersey. Bank, Corporal, He 
served, also, in Captain Caleb Kobinson's company, same 
regiment. Pension Rolls, file ISlo. 1611'f. The rolls of 
Captain Hutchins's company do not show any such man. 
See XIT, 63. But sec XIY, 186. He was also a drummer 
in Captain Stephen Dearborn's (or Derbin) company of 
Colonel Stickney's regiment, enlisting July 20, 1777, and 
discharged September 28, serving two months, eight days. 



Personal and Military Sketches. 195 

XV, 170. He was a United States pensioner. Another John 
Elliot was a private in Captain Joshua Abbott's company 
(he says it was in Captain Hale's) of John Stark's regiment. 
Enlisted May 8, 1775, for eight months. XIV, 61, 182. He 
then re-enlisted and served six weeks more. He was a 
sergeant in Captain Daniel Reynolds's company of Colonel 
Peabody's regiment, in 1777, and claims to have served one 
year. XV, 464, 466, 504. Enlisted January 26, 1778; dis- 
charged January 4, 1779. XV, ^77. He further enlisted in 
the regiment of Colonel Hercules Mooney, July 17, 1779; 
discharged January 9, 1780; was Sergeant Major of the 
regiment. This was the same man that is stated in some 
of the rolls as enlisting into Colonel Gale's regiment the 
same year. XV, 658, 667, 678, 691. XVI, 771. He was born 
in Chester, N. H., and died in Manchester, Indiana. He was 
a United States pensioner. 

There was also a John Elliot in Captain Thomas Salter's 
company of Artillery in 1775. XIV, 227, 257, 258; XVII, 30; 
and another of the same name in Captain John Hills's com- 
pany at Seavey Island at the same time. XIV, 235. And 
see XIV, 589. A John Elliot was in Captain Amos Morrill's 
company of Colonel John Stark's regiment. Enlisted for 
three years, February 6, 1777. XIV, 602. XV, 712. 

A John Elliot was in Captain John House's company, in 
Colonel Cilley's regiment. This man was from Thetford, 
Vt. XIV, 607, 608; XV, 425, 714, and see XV, 619, regard- 
ing a John Elliot from Barrington, N. H. There was also 
a John Elliot in Captain William Barron's company of 
Colonel Moses Nichols's regiment, in 1780. XVI, 144- 
Whether any of these enlistments were of the Peterborough 
soldier cannot be determined.) 



Richard (or Richardson) Emery. Was the son of 
Humphrey and Sarah (Heath) Emery, and was born prob- 
ably in Haverhill, Mass., March 10, 1763. In his childhood, 
his parents removed from Haverhill to Dunbarton, N. H. 
He married Jane Swan, and for a second wife, a widow by 



196 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

the name of Winchester, of Plattsburg, N. Y. When he 
came to Peterborough is iiukuowu, but he was a citizen 
there in 1775, and was a member of Captain Alexander 
Kobbe's company of militia in 1776. After the war he went 
to Topsam, Vt., and subsequently to Peru, N. Y., where he 
probably died — date unknown. He was a farmer by occu- 
pation. By his first wife he had nine children. 

A member of Captain William Scott's company which 
answered the Lexington Alarm, April 19, 1775. Service, 
three days. Enlisted into Captain William Scott's com- 
pany, Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment, April 23, 
1775. On pay roll of same dated August 1st, and on return 
of same dated October 6th. Served till December 31st; 
term, eight months, seven days. Mass Rolls, Vol. Y, page 
359, 372. N. E. State Papers, Yol. XY, 739. A member of 
Captain Abijah Smith's company of Colonel Nahum Bald- 
win's regiment, raised to reinforce the army in New York 
in 1776. Mustered September 21st; discharged early in the 
following December. Term, about three months. Was paid 
a bounty of £6, and £1 18s M for travel. The regiment was 
in the battle of White Plains, October 28, 1776. XIY, J,21. 



Jeremiah Fairfield. On the list of Revolutionary sol- 
diers in History of Peterborough (page 151), his name is 
stated as 'Tairchild." It should be "Fairfield," and is so 
given on all military rolls. Probably from Londonderry. 
After the war he removed to Vassalboro, Me., where he died 
on a date unknown. 

A member of Captain William Scott's company which 
answered the Lexington Alarm, April 19, 1775. Dis- 
charged April 23d. Service, three days. Enlisted into 
Captain William Scott's company of Colonel Paul Dudley 
Sargent's regiment, April 23, 1775; discharged, December 
31st. Service, eight months, seven days. On muster roll of 
same company, August 1st. On return of same dated Oc- 
tober 6th; reported sick and absent. Residence, Peter- 
borough. Mass. Rolls, Yol. Y, page ^72; XY, 739. 



Personal and Military Sketches. 197 

Enlisted out of Colonel Thornton's regiment of militia 
into Captain Daniel Livermore's company of Colonel Alex- 
ander Scammel's (Third) N. H. regiment, April 8, 1777, for 
three years. XIV, 579; XV, 452, m; ^VH, 319; XVI, 
SI, 33 and 59. Residence, Londonderry. Was paid a 
bounty of £20. XIV, 653. Discharged March 8, 1780. 
XVI, 187. According to this return he was mustered in 
March, 1777. On rolls to equalize pay of soldiers on account 
of depreciation of the currency for service prior to January 
1, 1780, and was paid |171.80. XV, 729. On a similar roll 
of same company and regiment for service in 1780, and was 
paid 117.70. XVI, 210. Enlisted for Londonderry, June 
30, 1780. Discharged, December 18, 1780. Allowed for 95 
miles' travel to Worcester. XVI, 65, 73. Service, six months. 
Paid wages, £804. Allowed for blanket, etc., £335; travel, 
£57; total, £1196. XVI, 73. The act under which this en- 
listment was served was passed June 16, 1780. The act 
apportions the men to be raised (600) among the different 
regiments of militia, with orders to the Captains to draft 
them; each man drafted and refusing to go to pay |500. 
Pay, 40 shillings per month in money equal to Indian corn 
at 4s per bushel; £5 for clothing, 12d per mile for travel, 
and billeting. See XVI, 70, 59 and 65. Enlisted February 
16, 1781, for three years, in the Fourth, Captain Livermore's, 
company of Colonel Alexander Scammel's New Hampshire 
regiment. Was paid a bounty of £20, to be paid in money 
equal to Indian corn at 4s per bushel, and interest from the 
date of muster. XVI, 235, 238. On rolls for service in 1781 
and was paid |70. XVI, 277. He was on the list of Lon- 
donderry men for 1781. XVI, 511. For his enlistment in 
1777, the town of Londonderry paid him a bounty of £30. 
XVI, 723-4- His entire service covered about seven years. 

(A Jeremiah Fairfield served in the town of Lowden, N. 
H., in the Continental Line in 1777. XVI, 100. For his 
service in 1780 the State paid him £17 13s Id depreciation 
money in 1784. XX, 230. In October, 1783, he is on the 
list of wagon masters' returns as soldier waggoner, at New- 



198 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

burgli, N. Y. Enlisted as such May 14, 1783, with General 
Washington's baggage. N. E. Hist. Gen. Register, Vol. 51, 
pages 39-41-) 



Oliver Felt. Was the son of Jonathan Felt, and was 
born in Dedham, Mass., December 3, 1758. IMarried Mary 
Dnnlap, in Peterborough, August 14, 1788, and died in 
Peterborough, December 19, 1829, aged 71 years. He came 
to Peterborough with his father in 1781, and was a black- 
smith by trade. Hist. Peterhorough, Genealogies, jjage 70. 

He enlisted into Captain George Gould's company of 
Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment, June 20, 1775. Is 
on the muster, roll of the company dated August 1st, and on 
the company returns dated October. Discharged, December 
31, 1775. Service, six months, 11 days. He was also a 
private in Captain William Bullard's company from the 
South Parish of Dedham, in Colonel William Mcintosh's 
regiment, on the alarm of March 4, 1776, and served four 
days. Enlisted into Captain Ebenezer Battle's company of 
Colonel William Mcintosh's regiment, December 11, 177G; 
discharged, December 30th. Service, 19 days. He was also 
a private in Captain John Boyd's company of Colonel John 
Daggett's regiment. Enlisted August 24, 1778; discharged 
September 3d. Service, 11 days, in Rhode Island. Mass. 
Rolls, Vol. V, page 603. 



Henry Ferguson. Was the son of John Ferguson, and 
born September 18, 1736. He was a man of high character, 
a staunch patriot, influential and active in the affairs of the 
town for many years, being Moderator in 1792; Selectman, 
ten years, in 1764, 1771, '77, '78, '85, '88, '89, '90, '91 and '92. 
Tithing man in 1783 and 1786. One of Committee of Safety, 
1775. 

For service in French and Indian War, see ante page 7. 
An interesting and extended sketch of him is found in 
Smith's History (genealogies) page 75. He was First 
Lieutenant in Captain Eleazer Cummings's company of 



Personal and Military Sketches. 199 

Colonel Jonathan Burnham's regiment, whieli served at 
Cambridge in the winter of 1775 and 1776. Service from 
December 8 ( ?), 1775, to January 15, 1776; term, 39( ?) days. 
(History of Peterborough said 44 days). This regiment was 
raised to take the place of the Connecticut troops which re- 
fused to remain with the army after December 6, 1775, their 
term having expired. See XIV, 240-241, and 242. He died 
April 1, 1812, aged 75 years. 



Richard Gilchrist. Was the son of William and Eliza- 
beth (White) Gilchrist, and was born in Lunenburg, Mass., 
February 22, 1753. He married: First wife, Mary Swan; 
second wife, Margaret Moore; third wife, Eleanor Gray. 
Both the latter were »f Peterborough, Margaret, his second 
wife, died August 7, 1818, and was buried in the old ceme- 
tery on the hill, in Peterborough. See "Inscriptions on 
Headstones," Peterborough, page 53. The soldier died, 
probably in Dublin, June 19, 1833. See XXX, 310. He was 
a resident of Dublin at the beginning of the war, and paid a 
poll tax there in 1775; signed the Association Test in 1776. 
Is claimed by Dublin. See Town History, page 149, "Derby's 
Early Dublin," page 16. Whether he was ever a resident of 
Peterborough is uncertain. 

A member of Captain William Scott's company which 
answered the Lexington Alarm, April 19, 1775. Service, 
three days. Enlisted into Captain William Scott's company 
of Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment, April 23, 1775. 
On pay roll of same company and regiment, August 1st, and 
on return of same dated October 6th. Signed order for 
bounty coat or its equivalent in money, November 14, 1775. 
Discharged, December 31st. Service, eight months, seven 
days. Residence, Peterborough. Mass. Rolls, Vol. VI, page 
425. See original Rolls, Mass. Archives, Vol. 16, Roll 40; 
Vol. 13, Roll 104. He was a United States pensioner. In 
his application, dated August 10, 1832, he declares: 

"That he was in the service of the United States in the 
Revolutionary War, as follows: In the year 1775, immedi- 



200 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

ately after the alarm from Lexington and Concord, he went 
to Cambridge, Mass., remained there for a few days, and en- 
listed for 8 months into the Co. commanded by Captain Wil- 
liam Scott, of Peterborough, N. H., in the Regt. commanded 
by Colonel John Stark, and served in said Company through 
the eight months, but was part of the time in Colonel Sar- 
gent's regiment. Was stationed in the vicinity of Boston, 
he thinks the latter part of the time at Winter Hill. Was in 
the battle of Bunker Hill, and brought a man off of the hill 
by the name of Thomas Green, who was wounded in the 
battle. He was dismissed about the fifth of January, 1776. 
Was in Service about 8 months and 10 days. He went from 
Dublin, N. H., where he then resided. 

(Signed) Richard Gilchrist." 
There are no rolls of his service in the New Hampshire 
militia. 



James Gordon (or Gordin). Absolutely no trace of this 
man can be found, except what is stated in the military rolls, 
for the period either before or after the war. Enlisted into 
Captain Othniel Thomas's company of Lieutenant Colonel 
Daniel Reynolds's regiment, September 21, 1781. Dis- 
charged, December 31st. Served for the town of "Peters- 
brook." XVII, 428. 

(There were two and perhaps three James Gordons in the 
army. One from Epping, in Captain James Norris's com- 
pany of Colonel Enoch Poor's regiment, in 1775. XIV, 116, 
129, 189, 309. Same man, also in Colonel Long's regiment in 
1776. XIV, 369, 377, J,92, 503, 515. Same man in Captain 
Beale's company for three years in Third New Hampshire 
Regiment, Continental Army. XIV, 564, 647. Deserted, 
February, 1779. XVI, 31, 33. 

Also a James Gordon in Captain Zebulon Gilman's com- 
pany of Colonel Stephen Evans's regiment in 1777. XV, 283, 
287. This man deserted after one month and 29 days' ser- 
vice. A James Gordon from Poplin (Fremont) in 1779. 
XV, 629, 648. One of the same name in the Sixth Company 
of Second New Hampshire Regiment, Continental Line, ser- 
vice prior to Jan. 1, 1780. XV, 723; XVI, 206, 227, 241; XVI, 



Personal and Military Sketches. 201 

274, 517, 657. This may be the man from Poplin. A James 
Gordon, a recruit in the Third New Hampshire Regiment in 
1780. XVI, 59. See XVI, 286, for a James Gordon serving 
for Bedford. XVI, 500. Also XVI, 6J,Jf, of a James Gor- 
don serving for Epping during the war; this may be the 
Poplin man above referred to. A James Gordon was in 
Captain Peter Coffin's company in December, 1775. XVII, 
27. Also same name served for Exeter in 1776. XVII, 57. 
Whether either of these were from Epping or Poplin is un- 
known ) . 



John Graham. Was a resident of the town before the 
war, XIII, 176, but whether there in 1775 cannot be deter- 
mined from any existing record. If so, he was not a mem- 
ber of Captain Alexander Robbe's company of militia in 
1776. He signed the Association Test in the town of 
Hillsborough, N. H., in 1776. XXX, 65, and was taxed 
there from 1776 to 1781, when his name disappeared from 
the records. \\Tien he removed from Peterborough to 
Hillsborough is not known. It was about the first of 1776. 
He probably joined Captain Scott's company at Peter- 
borough. 

A member of Captain William Scott's company which 
answered the Lexington Alarm, April 19, 1775. Service, 
three days. Enlisted into Captain William Scott's company 
of Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment, April 23, 1775. 
On pay roll of same company, August 1st, and on return of 
same company dated October 6th. He was wounded at the 
battle of Bunker Hill, XIV, 42, and was remarkable for his 
skill in throwning stones. After exhausting his ammu- 
nition, ''he seized stones, and began hurling them at the 
enemy, and not without effect."— il/orison's Centennial Ad- 
dress, in History of Peterborough, page 292. Discharged, 
December 31, 1775. Service, eight months, seven days. 
Residence, Peterborough. Mass. Rolls, Vol. VI, page 710. 
N. H. State Papers, Vol. XV, 739. A private in Captain 
Joseph Parker's company of Colonel Isaac Wyman's regi- 



202 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

ment in 1776. Mustered July 18, and paid a bounty' of £G, 
and one month's pay and travel, £1 2s. Discharged, Decem- 
ber 1, 1776. Service, four months and thirteen days. The 
regiment was ordered to rendezvous at Haverhill on the 
Connecticut River, XIV, 333. Enlisted to the credit of the 
town of Hillsborough into Captain James Gilmore's com- 
pany of Colonel Jacob Gale's regiment for service in Rhode 
Island, August 6, 1778. Discharged, August 28th; service, 
25 days. Wages, £5 per month. Total pay and travel, £12 
16s Sd. XV, 566. For this service the town of Hillsborough 
paid him a bounty of £10. XV, 582; XVII, 259. Place and 
date of birth and death unknown. 



William Graham. Nothing can be found of this man 
outside the military rolls. Possibly he was a brother of 
John Graham, but this is open to doubt. He was a resident 
of Peterborough in 1775, which accounts for his being a 
member of Captain Scott's company that year. His move- 
ments after the war, if he survived, cannot be traced. A 
priv^ate in Captain William Scott's company which answered 
the Lexington Alarm in 1775. Service, three days. En- 
listed into Captain William Scott's company of Colonel Paul 
Dudley Sargent's regiment, April 23, 1775. On pay roll of 
same company, August 1st, and on return of same dated 
October Gth. Discharged, December 31, 1775. Service, 
eight months, seven days. Mass. Rolls, Vol. VI, pages 111, 
784. ^^- S. State Papers, XV, 739. Residence, Peter- 
borough. One of the men returned by Colonel Enoch Hale 
under an order issued by the Committee of Safety in April, 
1777, directing him to recruit 119 men from the Continental 
Army for three years, out of his regiment of militia. A 
member of Cai)tain William Scott's company of Colonel 
Joseph Cilley's regiment. XIV, 577. (There is no William 
Graham on any printed rolls of Colonel Cilley's regiment.) 
Mustered by Nathaniel Barber, Muster Master for Suffolk 
County, Mass., February 2, 1777, for three years. Resi- 



Personal and Military Sketches. 203 

dence, Peterborough. In Captain Hunt's company of 
Colonel John Patterson's (Mass.) regiment. Enlisted 
January 25, 1777. Corporal in Captain John Mill's com- 
pany of Colonel Joseph Vose's (Mass.) regiment; on rolls for 
January-December, 1780, dated Garrison at West Point; en- 
listed for the war; on muster roll for May and August, 1781, 
sworn to in camp at Peekskill; reported on command at 
West Point; on muster rolls for September, October and 
November, 1781, dated Hutt's ; reported reduced to the ranks 
November 20, 1781. Mass. Rolls, Vol. VI, pages 111, 78//. 
The probability is that when he was drafted by Colonel Hale 
in 1777, he was already a member of one of the Mass. regi- 
ments last mentioned. Under the name of William Graham 
his descriptive list is: Stature, six feet; complexion, dark; 
hair, dark ; age, 24 years ; occupation, blacksmith ; residence, 
Peterborough; birthplace, Peterborough. (A William 
Graham was enlisted November 24, 1779, at Newcastle, by 
Captain Mills, for the war. Rank, Corporal in Captain 
Mills's company of Colonel Vose's regiment. On muster 
rolls for January and February, 1782. Mass. Bolls, VI, 
784.) 



John Gray. Was the son of Matthew and Jane (Kelso) 
Gray, and was born in Worcester, Mass., July 1, 1756. He 
was a brother of Kelso Gray of Peterborough, and came to 
town about 1767 or 1768. His name does not appear upon 
the town records prior to the war. He was a Selectman in 
1787, and was living in town in 1790, and was taxed there 
in 1801. Probably died in town, but this is not certain and 
date unknown ; and if so, his grave is not marked in the old 
cemetery. 

A private in Colonel Jonathan Chace's regiment of 
militia which marched. May 7, 1777, to reinforce the army 
at Ticonderoga. Enlisted May 6th; discharged, June 13th. 
Service, one month, seven days. Pay, (£4 lOs per month) 
and travel, £7 6s lOd XV, 18. Private in Captain Samuel 
Cunningham's company of Colonel Enoch Hale's regiment 



204 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

in 1778, for service in Rhode Island. Enlisted August lOth ; 
discharged, August 28, 1778. Service, 21 days. Wages, £5 
per month; total pay and travel, £11 2s. XV, 538. 

(A John Gray was a private in Captain Titus Salter's 
Artillery company at Fort Washington, Portsmouth Harbor, 
in 1775. XIV, 227, 257. Also a John Gray, possibly the 
same man, a recruit in the Continental Army in 1781, from 
Uarrington and serving for Dover. XVI, 237, 2JfJf. As- 
signed to Fifth Company in Colonel George Reid's regiment. 
XVI, 274. Claimed by Dover, XVI, 504, 624, 628. He is 
probably the pensioner living in Rochester in 1810. XXX; 
4U). 



Joseph Green. From Swanzey. Date and place of 
birth and death not found. Married Betsey Bigelow, April 
2, 1778. 

A private in Captain William Scott's company which 
answered the Lexington Alarm, April 19, 1775; service, 
three days. Enlisted into Captain William Scott's company 
of Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment, April 23, 1775. 
On pay roll of August 1, and on return of company dated 
October 6th, same year. Receipted for bounty coat, Novem- 
ber 11, 1775. Residence, Peterborough and Swanzey. Mass. 
Rolls, VI, 821. In N. H. State Papers, Vol. XV, 740, resi- 
dence given Swanzey. Discharged December 31, 1775. 
Service, eight months, seven days. 

Enlisted into Captain Samuel Wright's company of 
Colonel Moses Nichols's regiment, July 23, 1777; discharged, 
September 21th. Term, two months, two days. Paid £10 
16s. XV, 204. 

February 23, 1778, the town of Swanzey voted to pay him 
£43 Os 8d for one year and eight mouths' service. The his- 
tory of Swanzey says he enlisted to serve through the winter 
of 1775 and 1776. But no rolls of such service can be found. 

(A Joseph Greene of Stratham, N. H., enlisted into 
Captain Richard Ware's company of Colonel Alex. Scam- 
mel's regiment for three years, March 20, 1778. XIV, 642. 



Personal and Military Sketches. 205 

See also XY, 591, 733. Same man in Caiitain Isaac Fry's 
company, Colonel Scammel's regiment. XVI, 19, 41 J on 
these rolls the date of his enlistment is given as January 1, 
1778. see XVI, 194, where he is reported to have enlisted 
for the war on December 31, 1780 ; on depreciation rolls for 
service in 1780 and was paid £80. XVI, 213. See also 
same volume, 220, 279. Claimed by Stratham, XVI, 520, 
668, 845. XVII, 235, 236. He was in service in 1783 in 
Captain Isaac Frye's company. XXX, 488, 490, 492. This 
man was living in Stratham in 1840, at the age of 79 years. 
XXX, 428.) 



Thomas Green. From Swanzey, N. H. Born about 
1750 or 1752, but place of birth and also place and date of 
death uncertain. Married Lydia Foster, March 2, 1780. A 
private in Captain William Scott's company which answered 
the Lexington Alarm, April 19, 1775 ; discharged, April 23d. 
Enlisted into Captain William Scott's company of Colonel 
Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment, April 23, 1775; discharged, 
December 31st; term, eight months, seven days. On muster 
roll of same company, August 1, 1775, and on return of same 
dated October 6th that year, where he is reported absent, 
wounded; order for bounty coat, November 14. Mass. Rolls, 
Vol. VI, page 835. Residence given, Peterborough and 
Swanzey. In N. H. State Papers, Vol. XV, 740, his resi- 
dence is given Swanzey. Wounded at Bunker Hill, June 
17th, XIV, 42, in the shoulder by a musket ball, and was 
saved by his friend, Richard Gilchrist, who carried him on 
his back, in a fainting and critical condition, from the 
battlefield to Medford. A recruit in the Continental Army 
to the credit of Peterborough. Enlisted for Peterborough, 
June 28, 1780 ; discharged, December 4th ; term, five months, 
seven days. Total wages, £741 ds. Allowance for blanket, 
£335. Total pay, blanket and travel, £1134 Is. (Ratio was 
67 to 1). On this roll his age is given as 27 years. XVI, 
82, 92, On service at West Point. For his wound at 



200 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

Bunker Hill he was, by order of the General Court, placed 
on the pension roll for one year beginning January 1, 1776. 
The amount for one year in currency was £30, XVI, 322. 
In 1787 he was on the State pension roll, for wound in the 
shoulder, and as being unfit for military duty and unable to 
earn his living by manual labor. XVI, 322, 321, 329, 331, 
335, 342 and 345. In 1778 he filed the following petition to 
the Legislature: 

"SwANZEY, March 21, 1778. 
^'To the Honorahle the House of Representatives for the 
f^tate of Neu) Hampshire: 

''The Petition of Thomas Green of Swanzey in said state, 
Humbly Sheweth : That your petitioner being in the Ameri- 
can Service in the year 1775, in Col. Stark's Regiment, being 
called into Battle at Bunkers Hill on the 17th of June. Did 
then and there Receive a bad Wound from the Enemy by a 
Musket Ball whch passed quite through the shoulder, 
thereby making a Compound Fracture of the Scapula and 
socket of the Humerus, by means of which your I'etitioner 
was long confined and Disenabled from doing any Manner 
of Business for getting a Livelihood (and put to great 
Expence in order for completing a cure) for more than 12 
Months, and yet Remains unsound & unable to do but little 

"Your Petitioner therefore Humbly i)rays that this 
Honorable House would take into your consirleration the 
Case of your Petitioner above ^lentioned and grant such 
Relief as in your Wisdom you shall think proper — and your 
Petitioner as in Duty bound shall ever pray, etc. 

Thomas Green." 

To this petition is appended a certificate of the Surgeon 
of Colonel Stark's regiment — Dr. Calvin Frink, affirming 
the facts stated in the petition, and a recommendation by 
the Selectmen of Swanzey. Also the following endorsement 
by General Stark : 

"Petersborroijgh, Jan. IG, 1778. 

Gentlemen: I beg leave to Recommend to y*' Notice the 
Bearer ^Nfr. Thomas Green of my Rcg*^ who was wounded at 
Bunker Hill & rendered for a long time unca])able of getting 
his Su]»port as He was a good Soldier & one who always 
behaved genteely I think it my Duty to use the freedom of 



Personal and Military Sketches. 207 

addressing y^ Hone's in his behalf, I am, Gentlemen with Due 
resepct Y"" 

Most Obedient H^^ Ser^t^ 

John Stark, B. G." 
XVI, 388, 389. 

The claim was allowed. On June 15, 1785, a committee 
of the Legislature ajjpointed to consider the petitions of sick 
and wounded soldiers, reported as their opinion "That 
Thomas Green have and receive the sum of Eighteen Shil- 
lings per month beginning at the time when his pay as 
invalid ceases, and to be continued till the further order of 
the General Court." XVI, 389. The act raising the 
men under the call for 1780, apportions the men to the 
different militia regiments, orders the Captains to draft 
them; each man refusing to go was to pay |500. The pay 
was 40 shillings per month in money equal to Indian corn 
at four shillings per bushel ; £5 was allowed for clothing, 
and 12d per mile for travel, billeting, etc., until regular 
rations were drawn. XVI, 70. On February 23, 1778, the 
town of Swanzey voted to pay him for one year and eight 
months' service, £43 Qs 8d. The history of Swanzey says 
he re-enlisted in 1775, to serve through the winter of 1775 
and 1776, but no roll of this service has been found. 

After the war he removed to Washington County, Vt., 
where he died. He was a United States pensioner under 
the act of 1789. The papers in his case were destroyed in 
1814, when the British raided Washington. 



Adam Gregg (or Gragg) . Was the son of Hugh and Jean 
Gregg; born, probably, in Londonderry, September 23, 1745. 
Date of his arrival in Peterborough unknown. He was 
Highway Surveyor in 1772, and a member of Captain Alex- 
ander Robbe's militia company in January, 1776. Place 
and date of death unknown. 

A member of Captain Alexander Robbe's company which 
answered the Ticonderoga Alarm. Enlisted June 29, 1777; 
discharged July 3d. Service, five days. Was paid wages 



208 Petcrhoroiigh in the Revolution. 

and travel, £1 15s lOd. XV, 101. Trivate in Captain 
Samuel Cunningham's company of Colonel Enoch Hale's 
regiment. Enlisted August 10, 1778; discharged, August 
28th. Service, 21 days. Wages, £5 per month. Total pay 
and travel, £11 2s. XT, 538. He was a resident of the 
town in 1783, but his name does not appear in the United 
States census list of heads of families in 1790 . 



Hugh Gregg (or Gragg). Son of Hugh and Jean Gragg, 
and a brother of Adam Gregg. Was born in Londonderry ( ?), 
September 5, 1754. He was a member of Captain Alexan- 
der Robbe's company of militia in January, 1776. 

A private in Captain Philip Thomas's company of 
Colonel James Reed's regiment. Enlisted April 30, 1775; 
discharged December 31st. Service, eight months, one day. 
Wages, forty shillings per month. On pay roll of company 
dated August 1, 1775, and was paid for wages, travel, 
blanket and coat, £8 14s 8d. XIV, 99. October 15th, re- 
ceipted for bounty coat promised by State of New Hamp- 
shire. XIV, 205. 

On roll of Captain Joseph Parker's company in Colonel 
Isaac Wyman's regiment, raised out of Colonel Enoch Hale's 
regiment of militia, and joined the army at Ticonderoga. 
Mustered, and paid. July IS, 1776, in advance, a bounty of 
£6, and one month's pay and travel, £4 2s. Total, £10 2s. 
Served till December 1st. Term, about four and one-half 
months. XIV, 33^. Private in Captain John Taggart's (of 
Sharon) company which answered the Ticonderoga Alarm. 
Enlisted June 30, 1777; discharged July 3d. Service, four 
days. Total pay and travel, £1 12s 10(7. XV, lOJf. Was 
residing in Peterborough in 1700. There was also a man of 
same name in Sharon, in 1792. Place and date of death 
unknown. 



Jacob Gregg (or Gragg). Was the son of Hugh and Jean 
Gregg; born in Londonderry or Peterborough, March 19, 
1757. Was a brother of Adam and Hugh Gregg, before 



Personal and Military Sketches. 209 

named. He belonged to Captain Alexander Robbe's com- 
pany of militia in January, 1776, which fixes his residence 
in Peterborough that year. 

Private in Captain William Scott's company of Colonel 
Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment. Enlisted June 13, 1775. 
On muster roll of same company dated August 1, 1775; on 
return of same dated October 6th. Order for bounty coat 
or its equivalent in money, December 28th, and discharged 
December 31, 1775. Service, six months, 17 days. Mass. 
Rolls, Vol. VI, 707. N. H. State Papers, 739. Whether he 
lived in town after the Revolution cannot be determined. 
His name is not in the census roll of Peterborough of 1790. 
He was a resident of Sharon in 1778. Place and date of 
death unknown. 



James Gregg (or Gragg). From Londonderry. There 
is nothing to show that he was ever a resident of Peter- 
borough, but is on the list of town soldiers given in History 
of Peterborough, page 151. He was living in Londonderry 
in 1790, and perhaps died there. 

In Captain Thomas McLaughlin's company of Colonel 
John Stark's regiment in 1775, but his name is not on the 
company roll dated August 1, 1775, found in XIV, 57, 58, 
59. Receipted for four dollars in lieu of bounty coat, 
October 10th. XIV, 183. Discharged, December 31, 1775. 
On a return of Colonel John Bell, of men raised for three 
months' service in the Continental Army in 1781, under an 
order of the Committee of Safety dated September 11, 1781. 
Service, about three months. XVI, 263. Served in Colonel 
Daniel Reynolds's regiment, and to the credit of London- 
derry. XVI, 725. 



John Gregg (or Gragg). A native of Londonderry. 
Whether he was a resident of the town before the war is 
doubtful. A John Gregg of Peterborough, married Rachel 
Stewart, also of Peterborough, in Amherst, N. H., May 12, 
15 



210 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

1784. 2\^. E. Hist, and Gen. Register, Vol. 61, "page 237. He 
is claimed as a Peterborough soldier in History of the Town. 
See page 151. Men by the name of John Gregg and John 
Gregg, Jr., were living in town in 1790. See also Peter- 
borough Genealogies, page 100. 

A private in Captain John Moore's and Thomas Mc- 
Laughlin's companies of Colonel John Stark's regiment in 
1775. Enlisted April 24th; discharged, December 31st. 
Service, eight months, six days. On pay roll of August 1, 
1775, and paid to that date, £9 2s M. XIV, 5S. Receipted 
for |4 in lieu of bounty coat, October 10th. XIV, 183. On 
muster roll of Captain Samuel McConnell's company of 
Colonel Nahum Baldwin's regiment. Mustered, and paid a 
bounty of £6, and for travel, £2 5s. XIV, 425. Discharged, 
December 31st. Service, four months. Is claimed by New 
Boston for this service. XVI, 753. 

A private in Captain Peter Clark's company of Colonel 
Thomas Stickney's regiment, which marched from Lynde- 
borough, July, 1777, to join the American army at Saratoga. 
Enlisted July 20th; discharged, September 25, 1777. Ser- 
vice, two months, five days. Paid wages and travel, £11 15s 
5d XV, 189. There is nothing on any military roll to 
identify his service with the town of Peterborough, and it is 
very doubtful if he can be claimed as a tow^n soldier, but 
Peterborough is given the benefit of the doubt by inserting 
his name here on the authority of the History of the Town. 



James Hackley (or Hawklby, or Hockley). Was 
born in Cartage, England, in 1746. Date of arrival in this 
country unknown. Probably a resident of Peterborough at 
the beginning of the war, as he was a member of Captain 
Alexander Robbe's militia company in January, 177G. He 
was married to Betsey Farwell, of Peterborough, by 
William Smith, Esq., January 27, 1784. He had probably 
had a military experience prior to his entering the American 



' Personal and Military Sketches. 211 

army, and it is possible that, like Randall McAllister, he 
was a deserter from the British army. 

A member of Captain William Scott's company which 
answered the Lexington Alarm in April, 1775. Enlisted 
April 19; rank. Sergeant;* discharged, April 23d. Re-en- 
listed into Captain William Scott's company of Colonel Paul 
Dudley Sargent's regiment, April 27, 1775; rank. Sergeant. 
On pay roll of same company dated August 1st. On return 
of same dated October 6. Gave order for bounty coat or its 
equivalent in money, November 14th; discharged, December 
31, 1775. Service, eight months, seven days. Mass. Rolls, 
Vol. YII, page 560. See State Papers, XV, 739. On a roll 
of First N. H. Regiment, Continental Line, enlisted for 
Peterborough for the war, dated 1776. XIV, Jf71 On list 
of Peterborough men in Captain Isaac Far well's company. 
Colonel Joseph Cilley's regiment, and was one of the twelve 
men raised by order of the Committee of Safety, dated April, 
1777, addressed to Colonel Enoch Hale, for 119 men out of 
his regiment of militia for the Continental Army. XIV, 
577. His name is on a size roll of absentees from Colonel 
Cilley's regiment, dated Valley Forge, January 10, 1778. 
Descriptive list: Residence, Peterborough; age, thirty-two 
years; stature, five feet, seven inches; complexion, 
light; hair and eyes, light; reported on furlough and 
wounded. XV, 439. On a return of the same company and 
regiment, dated February 14, 1781, residence and enlisted 
for Peterborough. XVI, 218. On a size roll of same com- 
pany and regiment, date not given; age, 30 years; stature, 
five feet, four and one-half inches; born in Catridge, Eng- 
land. Enlisted at Peterborough, March 1, 1777, for the 
war. XVI, 93//. Discharged, December 1, 1781. Kidder's 
History First N. H. Regiment. On a pay roll of Seventh 
Company, same regiment, under name of James Hawley to 
equalize the pay of soldiers on account of the depreciation 

* In the original rolls Hackley's rank is given as sergeant on the rolls of Captain 
Scott's company of Minute Men, April 20-33, and in the pay-roll of August 1st; but 
in the muster roll dated October 6, 1775, his rank is given as private. 



212 Peterborough in tlie Revolution. 

of the currency for service prior to January 1, 1780, and was 
paid |17G. XV, 716. On a similar roll for service in 1780 
in same company and regiment, and was paid |80. XVI, 
201. On pay roll of same for service in 1781, and was paid 
$80. XVI, no. On town's list of soldiers. XVI, 5/7. By 
a muster and pay roll of Captain Isaac Farwell's company, 
dated Walpole, February, 1778, he was paid a bounty of £20, 
probably for his enlistment into the Continental service, and 
travel amounting to 8s 2rf. XIV , 593. See also roll of 
Captain Isaac Farwell's company. First N. H. Regiment, 
dated February 14, 1781. XVI, 21S. On roll of Peter- 
borough men serving for three years and certified by the 
Selectmen, July 23, 1781. XVI, 19I{. 

When the town settled with the soldiers in 1786, under 
its vote of 1782, giving to each man serving in the Conti- 
nental Army £10 yearly, there was found to be due him £1 
13s 4:d, for which the town gave security. After the war he 
became reduced in circumstances, and in 1780 the town 
voted to pay a judgment which had been obtained against 
him. Toum Records, Vol. I, page 130. He was a resident 
of the town in 1790, and paid taxes in Sharon in 1792. He 
died in Walpole, N. H., June 24, 1816. The widow, in her 
application for a pension in 1838, says her husband was a 
pensioner, and that he died December 25, 1825, but the 
records of the Pension OflSce say June 24, 1816, and that he 
was placed on the roll September 13, 1808. The widow also 
says in her application for increase, dated October 23, 1850, 
that her husband was "of Walpole." She was living in 
Charlestown, N. H., in 1855, and made application for 
bounty land. 



John Halfpenny. Place and date of birth unknown. 
There is no evidence to show whether he was a resident of 
Peterborough either before, during or after the war. He 
was not a member of Captain Robbe's company of militia 
in 1776. The place and date of his death cannot be found. 



Personal and Military Sketches. 213 

Private in Captain William Scott's company of minute- 
men which answered the Lexington Alarm, April 19, 1775. 
Discharged, April 23d. Service, three days. Re-enlisted 
into same company in Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's regi- 
ment, April 23, 1775. On muster roll of the company dated 
August 1st; on company return dated October 6th; gave 
order for bounty coat or its equivalent in money, dated 
December 28th; discharged, December 31, 1775. Service, 
eight months, eight days. Mass. Rolls, Vol. VII, page 62. 
Whether this was the whole military service of the soldier 
is not known. The following certificate tends to show that 
it was not. But his name cannot be found on any other roll 
than the above. It is not improbable that he served through 
1770, as many of Captain Scott's men did, but no rolls of 
that service have been found, 

Peterborough, 17th February, 1783. 

"This may Certifle to all to Whom it may eonsern that 
John Halfpenny hath not Received any Bounty from the 
town of Peterborough since the Contest Began Between 
Grate Brittan and America. 

asserted by William Smith 
Samuel Gregg 

Selectmen." 

XIII, 182. 



Abner Haggett. Was born in Wenham, Massachusetts, 
February 4, 1759, and was the son of Benjamin and Martha 
(Manning) Haggett, and came to town in 1781. Married 
Mary Tuttle, in Lynn, Mass., February 12, 1782, and died in 
Peterborough, January 12, 1844, aged 85 years. His entire 
service was in Massachusetts regiments and to the credit of 
Massachusetts towns. So far as known his first enlistment 
was in Captain Asa Prince's company of Colonel Danford 
Keyes's regiment, September 12, 1777; discharged January 
3, 1778. Term, three months, 21 days. Served in Rhode 
Island. Roll dated Danvers, Mass. Also on a roll of the 
same company and regiment, dated December 31, 1777, at 
Providence. Under the name of Abner Hagget, he enlisted 



214 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

into Captain Miles Greenwood's company of Colonel Jacob 
Gerrish's regiment, February 3, 1778; discharged, April 3, 
1778. Term, two months, one day. This was for guarding 
Hessian prisoners taken at Saratoga. He rendered no mili- 
tary service to the credit of Peterborough. Mass. Rolls, 
VII, page 29. Also enlisted July 10, 1779, into Captain 
Jeremiah Putnam's company of Colonel Nathan Tyler's 
regiment of (Mass.) new levies, and was discharged January 
1, 1780. Term, four months, 21 days. Mass. Rolls. 

He filed an application for pension, August 30, 1832. In 
it he says: 

'That he enlisted for three months in the fall of 1777, 
into Captain Prince's Company of Mass. Militia, in, if he 
rightly remembers. Col. Gerrish's regiment. The name of 
the Lieut, of the company was Whipple. The name of 
the Lieut. Colonel of the Kegiment he thinks, was Putnam. 
He went to the State of Rhode Island, and was stationed 
part of the time at Providence, and part of the time at North 
Kingston. The time of his service expired, he believes, 
about the first of January. Col. Crane's Regiment of Artil- 
lery was with his Regiment at North Kingston, he thinks, 
but is not certain. In January, 1778, he enlisted for three 
months and afterward served the term out in Capt. Dodge's 
Company of Mass. Militia. The other officers of the Com- 
pany were Lieut. Baker and Ensign Brown. He doesn't 
know to what Regiment he belonged. He was stationed with 
his Company at Winter Hill to guard the Hessian prisoners 
from Burgoyne's army. This term of service expired in 
April. About the first of July, 1779, he entered the Service 
again under an enlistment for 6 months. Served in Capt. 
Putnam's company, Col. Tyler's regiment. Name of Lieut. 
Colonel was Putnam. He was stationed at Providence till 
the British Army left Rhode Island, then went to Newport, 
and was stationed at that place until his term was out, which 
was about January 1, 1780. He was born in Wenham, 
Mass, February 4, 1759. Has no record of his age. When 
called into service he lived in Beverly, Mass. Since the war 
has lived in the same place, and about 4G years past in 
Peterboro, N. H., where he now lives. He never received 
any written discharge from the service. Gen. John Steele 
and Asaph Evans, of Peterborough are persons to whom he 
is known in his present neighborhood, who can testify to his 



Personal and Military Sketches. 215 

character for veracity, and their belief in his Services as a 
Soldier of the Revolution. 

(Signed) Abner Haggett." 

This statement of his service differs from that found in 
the military rolls, as above given. On July 6, 1833, he filed 
another application setting forth his enlistments as found 
in the Massachusetts military rolls. He also says that when 
he entered the service he lived in Wenham, and not in 
Beverly ; that the farm where his father lived was partly in 
Wenham and partly in Beverly, and that the house in which 
they lived stood close to the line between the two towns. 
His pension, at the rate of |38.64 per annum, was allowed 
September 28, 1833. 



Joseph Henderson. Was the son of John and Jean 
(Turner) Henderson, and was born in Lancaster, Mass., 
October 25, 1751. He was baptized in the church at Lan- 
caster, December 15, 1751, on which day his parents were 
admitted into full communion with the church. His family 
was Scotch Irish. His parents lived in Lancaster until 
1752, when they removed to Lunenburg, Mass., from which 
place they disappear soon after 175G. Whether the 
parents removed to Peterborough from Lunenburg is 
unknown. After the war he removed to New York State, 
and in 1814 went to Huntington, Lucerne County, Pa., 
where he died early in the year 1832. Probably never a 
resident of Peterborough. 

He was not a member of Captain Alexander Robbe's 
company of militia in January, 1776, which indicates that he 
was not a resident of the town at that date. He was resid- 
ing in Boston in 1776, when he enlisted into Captain William 

Scott's company of Colonel regiment, in which 

he served one year; rank. Sergeant; discharged at Morris- 
town, New Jersey. (The Massachusetts rolls give no record 
of this service). 

His name first appears on a roll of twelve men raised by 
the town for the Continental army, under an order from 



216 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

the Committee of Safety, dated April, 1777, addressed to 
Colonel Enoch Hale, directing him to furnish out of his regi- 
ment of militia 119 men for the regular service. XIV, 575, 
577. Enlisted January' 1, 1777, assigned to Captain William 
Scott's company of Colonel Joseph Cilley's regiment. Was 
paid a bounty of £20 and 8s lOd for travel. XIV, 612. He was 
on the depreciation rolls for service prior to January 1, 1780, 
made up to equalize the pay of the soldiers on account of the 
depreciation of the currency, and was paid |40. XV, 711. 
He was discharged January 1, 1778, to be appointed 
wagoner. XVI, 517. His term of enlistment was for the 
war and was certified by the Selectmen as serving for the 
town. XVI, 794' The date of his leaving the army not 
given, but it was in 1781, at the expiration of his term. No 
record is found of any service by him in the Bennington 
Campaign. He was at that time (1777) serving in Colonel 
Cilley's regiment. 

(A Joseph Henderson, probably from Exeter, was in 
Captain Nicholas Rawlings's company at Pierce Island, 
Portsmouth Harbor, in 1775. {XIV, 231), and in Captain 
Jonathan Robinson's company of Colonel William Whipple's 
regiment, in September, 1776, and was paid a bounty and 
advance wages of £6 and £2 8s for travel. XIV, 403, 414- 
Also in Captain Nicholas Rawlings's company. Colonel 
I brake's regiment, in 1777. XV, 327. This last man was 
from Exeter, N. H.) 

In his application for pension, filed April 29, 1818, Joseph 
Henderson, of Peterborough, says: ''That he enlisted near 
Boston, in the State of Mass., in the year 1776, for one year, 
in the company commanded by Capt. Scott, in the Regiment 
commanded by Col. ? (Colonel Paul Dudley Sar- 
gent, probably) as Sergeant of the Mass. Line, and that he 
faithfully served that year, and was discharged near Morris- 
town in the State of New Jersey. That in the year 1777, he 
again enlisted into the Company of Capt. William Scott, in 
the Regiment of Col. Joseph Cilley of the N. H. Line. That 
he continued to serve in said Corps and in the Service of the 
United States until the spring of 1781, when he was dis- 



Personal and Military Sketches. 217 

charged from Service near the English neighborhood of the 
State of New York. That he was at the battle of Harlem 
Heights, and at the battle called Hubberton with a part of 
the army of Burgoyne, commanded by Gen. Fraser, and in 
several of the Sullivan Expeditions against the Indians, 
Skirmishing, and that a part of the time he acted as 2nd 
Sergeant in Capt. Scott's Company above named. And he 
received a discharge from the Quartermaster General, Henry 
Dearborn, which is now lost. He having acted and having 
been taken from the Line of the Army as a Wagon-Master a 
part of the time by the express order of Gen. Poor. And 
that he is in reduced circumstances, and stands in need of 
the Assistance of his Country for Support. And that he has 
no other evidence now in his power of said Service. 

Joseph Henderson." 
The pension was granted. Rate, $90 per year. 

When Congress, by the Act of 1820, required pension- 
ers to file a statement of their property and income, to 
ascertain if they were in need of a pension, Joseph Hender- 
son filed the following schedule. After setting forth his 
military service, as above given, and that he had not since 
his pension was allowed in any manner disposed of his 
property or any part thereof, and that he had not, nor any 
person in trust for him, ''any property or securities, con- 
tracts or debts due him, nor any income, other than what is 
hereto annexed,"' makes this list of his estate: 

''Real Estate Money One Spade, one Knife. 

One debt in my favor again Jacob I. Bargardos. 
One other against Almon Church. 
Both amount to $12.00. 
"Family consists of himself and one daughter who resides 
in Michigan Territory. His occupation is that of day 
laborer, when able to work, but he is now unable to work 
owing to ill health, or to support himself without aid or 
assistance from Government. 

(Signed) Joseph Henderson." 



Simpson Hogg, His name does not appear upon any 
record or document relating to the town, except the 
Assessors' records. He paid taxes in Peterborough in 1797 



218 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

iiud 1798. His widow was taxed for property in 1800. 
Probably of the family of Samuel Hogg, a citizen of Peter- 
borough before, during and after the war. The soldier may 
have been his son, but there is nothing to determine. Date 
and place of birth not found. Died in Peterborough in 
1798. 

A private in Captain Stephen Parker's company of 
Colonel Moses Nichols's regiment in 1777; enlisted July 9th; 
discharged, September 26, 1777. Service, two months, seven 
days. Wages, £1 10s per month. Total pay and travel, 
£10 18s 6d. XT', 221. The regiment was in the battle of 
Bennington. His will, which was proven July 2, 1798, was 
dated April 13, 1798. By it he leaves to his wife Jerutia, one 
cow, two sheep and all his household furniture; to his son, 
James, all his neat stock, sheep and farming tools and 
clothing, and charges him to pay £10 each to his three 
daughters; and to his son, Simpson, his gun. His estate 
inventoried £215 Is. 



Nathaniel Holmes. Was the son of Nathaniel and 
Elizabeth Moore Holmes, and was born in Londonderry, 
September 5, 1759; did not come to Peterborough until 
about 1784. He first went to Cambridge in 1775, when 
sixteen years old, as waiter boy for Lieutenant Henry Fer- 
guson, and later was waiter for Major Duncan, of London- 
derry. In September, 1776, he was urged to enlist into 
Captain Joseph Findlay's company by his brother-in-law, 
William Moore, who offered to make up his wages to |10 per 
month, but declined on the ground that his clothes were 
worn out. His sister, Mrs. Moore, hearing the conversation, 
said to her husband. "Billy, you furnish the shoes, and I will 
furnish the clothes." There were only two pounds of wool 
in the house, but the next morning the sheep of the farm 
were brought to the house, and four lambs were shorn of 
their fleeces. Within twenty days the wool was colored, 
spun, woven and made into cloth, and when Captain Findlay 
came along on his way to Saratoga, the boy joined the army. 



Personal and Military Sketches. 219 

Hist, of Peterborough. Genealogies, page 111. The mili- 
tary rolls show that his first enlistment was into Captain 
Abijah Smith's company of Colonel Nahum Baldwin's regi- 
meet in 1776. Mustered and paid bounty £6, and travel, £1 
18s 1(Z— £7 18s 4d. XIY, 421. Served till early in Decem- 
ber. Term, about three months. The regiment joined the 
army near New York, and was in the battle of White Plains, 
October 28, 1776. A private in Captain Joseph Findlay's 
company of volunteers which marched from Londonderry, 
and joined the army at Saratoga in 1777. Enlisted October 
1st; discharged, November 4th. Service, one month, four 
days. Wages, £1 10s per month. Total pay and travel, £6 
16s 2d. XV, 394. Was paid 14s for billeting between 
Keene and Bennington. XV, 429. 

Mr. Holmes was a prominent citizen of Peterborough 
from his removal there in 1784, until his death. He married 
Catherine, daughter of Samuel and Janet McFarland 
Allison, of Londonderry, about 1784, just prior to his re- 
moval to Peterborough. November 28, 1799, he was chosen 
Elder of the church, an office which he adorned through its 
successive changes from Presbyterian to Orthodox Congrega- 
tional, and from Orthodox Congregational to Congregational 
Unitarian, and died in Peterborough, September 10, 1832, 
aged 73 years. See Genealogies, page 111. 



Richard Hovey. Was born in Boxford, Mass., February 
4, 1761, and came to town about 1782. Married Rebecca 
Roberts in 1789, and for second wife he married Asenath 
Baxter, widow of A. Hall, May 29, 1811. He died in Peter- 
borough, May 10, 1842, aged 81 years. History of Peter- 
horough. Genealogies, page 118. 

He enlisted as a private into Captain John Robinson's 
company of Major Gage's regiment, October 4, 1777, and 
was discharged November 6th; service, 35 days. The com- 
pany marched to reinforce the Northern Army. He was 
also a private in Captain Jonathan Ayers's company of 



220 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

Colonel Nathaniel Wade's (Essex County ) regiment. En- 
listed July 14, 1780; discharged, October 10th. Service, 
three months, eight days, including twelve days' (240 miles) 
travel home. Company was raised to reinforce the Conti- 
nental Army for three months. 3Iass. Rolls, Vol. VIII, page 
323. He rendered no military service for Peterborough. 



Isaac Houston. His name does not appear on any 
record or roll of men of the town, except that of Alexander 
Robbe's company of militia, in 1776. He was the son of 
Samuel and Sarah Houston, and was born in Dunstable in 
1759, and died in Hanover, N. H., March 25, 1833. He ap- 
pears to have served two enlistments in the same companies 
with Samuel Houston, and was a resident of the town in 
1775. March 18, 1702, he married Ruth Gale, of Concord, 
N. H., where both were then living. He subsequently re- 
moved to Hanover. 

Private in Captain Alexander Robbe's company which 
answered the Ticonderoga Alarm, in 1777. Enlisted June 
29, 1777; discharged, July 3; service, five days. Was paid 
£1 15s lOd. XV, 101. A private in Captain Samuel Mc- 
Connell's company of Colonel Thomas Stickney's regiment 
same year. Enlisted July 19, 1777; discharged, September 
18th; service, two months; wages, £4 10s per month. Total 
pay and travel, £10 15s IM. XV, 175. In 1779, while living 
in Bedford, N. H., he enlisted in Massachusetts and served 
nine months. He is on a return dated Boxford, Mass., De- 
cember 8, 1779, of men mustered by John Cushing, Muster 
Master for Essex County, to join the Continental Army for 
nine months. Engaged for the town of Salem, Mass. 
Mrtss. Rolls, Vol. VIII, page 317. Under the name of Isaac 
Huston he is returned as received of Justin Ely, Commis- 
sioner, by Captain James Tisdale, at Springfield, Mass., 
August 23, 1779, Colonel Hutchinson's regiment. Age, 19 
years; stature, five feet, ten inches; complexion, light. En- 
gaged for town of Salem, Also in Captain Moore's company 
of Colonel Shepard's (4th) regiment. Entered service, 



Personal and Military Sketches. 221 

August 17, 1779; discharged, May 17, 1780. Term, nine 
months. Mass. Rolls, Vol. VIII, page 512. 

In his claim for pension dated August 24, 1832, he says : 
'•That he enlisted in the Army of the U. S. in 1779, and served 
in the 1th Regt. Mass. Line, under the following officers — 
Col. Shepherd, Capt. William Moore, 4:th Mass. Regt. and 
was Discharged May 15, 1780. That he resided in the town 
of Bedford, Co. of Hillsboro, N. H. when he entered the 
Service, was Mustered at Boxford, near Salem, Mass, 
August 11, 1779, and marched forthwith for Springfield, 
Mass. Then marched to Hartford, Conn., thence to Litch- 
field, thence to Fishkill and West Point, X. Y. Then 
marched to Salem, N. Y., and joined General Glover's Bri- 
gade in Col. Shepherd's Regt. Capt. Moore's Co., Sept. 15, 
1779. 

''He further states that he entered the Service of the U. 
S. under the following officers and Served as herein stated. 
Under Gen. John Stark, N. H. Militia, Col. Stickney, Capt. 
I. McConnell, Lieut. St. John Orr. He entered the Service 
on or about the 20th of July, 1777, and left it at the end of 
the Campaign at Bennington, Vt. (He does not recollect 
the date). He resided in the town of Bedford, Co. of Hills- 
boro, N. H. Was a Volunteer. Was in the whole of the 
Battle of Bennington. Marched from Bedford, N, H., to 
Charlestown, then through Chester to Manchester, Vt., then 
through Arlington to Bennington, Vt. He knew no Conti- 
nental Regiment, or Company, or Regular Officers at that 
place. 

"And further he states that some time in the month of 
June, 1777, he being at Peterboro. N. H., Volunteered in a 
party of Militia to proceed to Ticonderoga (Lake Cham- 
plain), for the purpose of defending that place against the 
attacks of Gen. Burgoyne then on his march from Canada. 

"This detachment left Peterboro, and proceeded through 
Keene to Charlestown, N. H. At this place he awaited the 
arrival of other Troops and drew provisions and ammu- 
nition, after which he proceeded toward Ticonderoga, and 
on meeting an Express who brought information that the 
Fort was given up, the party returned to CharlestowTi, and 
were Discharged. 

"He received no pay for this Service. Served, he thinks, 
in this town about two weeks. 

(Signed) Isaac Houston." 



222 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

His widow, in her application, dated August 25, 1838, 
after setting forth her husband's service as above, further 
declares : 

"That she was married to said Isaac Houston on the 18th 
day of March, 1792. That her husband aforesaid, Isaac 
Houston, died on the 25th day of March, 1833. That she 
was not married to him previous to his leaving the Service, 
but was married previous to January 1st, 1791, viz, at the 
time above stated. 

(Signed) Ruth Houston." 



Samuel Houston. Probably a brother of Isaac Houston, 
and was born in Dunstable, February 28, 1715. He was a 
resident of the town in 1775, and a member of Captain 
Alexander Robbe's militia company in January, 1776, and 
continued a resident of the town until after 1790. See XIII, 
184. He came from Lyndeborough to Peterborough on a 
date unknown. He was a blacksmith by trade, and followed 
that calling in Peterborough after the war. Died in Peter- 
borough, May 23, 1824, aged 79 years. 

A private in Captain Alexander Robbe's company which 
answered the Ticonderoga Alarm in 1777; enlisted June 
29th, and discharged July 3, 1777. Service, five days. Was 
paid £1 25s lOf?. XV, 101. Corporal in Samuel McCon- 
nell's company of Colonel Thomas Stickney's regiment, same 
year. Enlisted July 19, 1777; discharged, September 20. 
Service, two months, eight days. Wages, £4 10s per month. 
Total pay and travel ,£12 18s llc7. XV, 17 J/. The regi- 
ment was in the battle of Bennington. A private in Captain 
Samuel Cunningham's company of Colonel Enoch Hale's 
regiment for service in Rhode Island in 1778. Enlisted 
August 10, 1778; discharged, August 28th. Service, 21 days. 
Wages, £5 per month. Total pay and travel, £11 2s, XV, 
539. The History of Lyndeborough, see Vol. 2, page 781, 
claims him for this service, but he should be accredited to 
Peterborough. 

(A Samuel Houston was a lieutenant in Captain Peter 
Clark's company of Colonel Daniel Moore's regiment in 



Personal and Military Sketches. 223 

1777. XV, 118, 119, 138. Same man a sergeant in Captain 
James Aiken's company, Colonel Moses Kelley's regiment in 
Rhode Island in 1778. XV, 556. A Samuel Houston en- 
listed into Lieutenant Colonel Henry Dearborn's company, 
Colonel Alexander Scammel's regiment, July 13, 1779, for 
one year. XVI, 13; XV, 733. Also a Samuel Houston, 
sergeant in Captain Jonas Kidder's company of Colonel Moses 
Nichols's regiment in 1780. XVI, IJfO, 161. Possibly this 
may be the Peterborough man. A Samuel Houston from 
Bedford, enlisting for Chester, served six months at West 
Point in 1781. XVI, 255, 501, 600. A Samuel Houston, 
born in Londonderry in 1754, was private in Captain George 
Eeid's company', Colonel Stark's regiment, in 1775. XIV, 
74. Served eight months. Then re-enlisted and served one 
year. In January, 1777, he enlisted for three years in 
Colonel Washington's regiment of the United States. He 
died in Belfast Me., on January 9, 1835.) 



Thomas Houston (or Hewston). Residence, Peter- 
borough. Private in Captain William Scott's companj^ 
Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment, which answered 
the Lexington Alarm, April 19, 1775. Discharged, April 
23d. Service, three days. Mass. Rolls, VII, 805. His 
name is not found on any New Hampshire roll, nor is it on 
any record or paper of the town. If a citizen there, he may 
have been of the family of Samuel and Isaac Houston, and 
was born in Dunstable. 



John Kennady (or Kanady). A resident of Peter- 
borough in 1775, and was a member of Captain Alexander 
Robbe's company of militia in January, 1776. Date of his 
arrival in town not found. A private in Captain John Tag- 
gart's company of Lieutenant Colonel Heald's regiment 
which answered the Ticonderoga Alarm in 1777. Enlisted 
June 30th; discharged, July 4th. Service, five days. Paid 
wages and travel, £1 15s lOd. XV, lOJ/. Sergeant in Cap- 
tain Joseph Fox's company of Colonel Henry Jackson's 



224 Peterhorough in the Revolution. 

(Mass.) regiment. Enlisted June 29, 1779, for three years. 
Residence, Peterborough. XV, .^27. Sergeant on roll of 
Seventh Company of Colonel Jackson's regiment dated March 
15, 1779; residence, Peterborough. XVI, Ifi. On roll of 
New Hampshire men serving in independent comi)anies and 
regiments, in War Office, and dated March 1, 1784, Resi- 
dence given Londonderry. Rank, Sergeant. XVI, 303. 
Paid £15. XVI, 101. On a return certified at Camp near 
Morristown, April 30, 1780, of officers and men belonging to 
Colonel Lee's, Colonel Henley's and Colonel Jackson's regi- 
ments, and men l)elonging to Massachusetts in Colonel Henry 
Sherburne's regiment, who were incorporated into a regi- 
ment under command of Colonel Henry Jackson, agreeably 
to the arrangement of April 9, 1779. Captain Fox's com- 
pany ; rank. Sergeant. On rolls of Continental pay acocunts 
from June 29, 1777, to August 25, 1779. Residence, 
Peterborough; term, three years; engaged for the 
town of Attleborough, (Mass.). Engaged June 29, 1777; 
reported deserted, August 25, 1779. Mass. Rolls, Vol. IX, 
pages 4 cind 113. Whether he lived in town after the 
Revolution is unknown. A John Kennedy was living in 
New Boston in 1790, and he may have been the same man. 
Place and date of birth and death cannot be found. 

(A John Kenady was a private in Captain Timothy 
Bedel's company of Rangers in 1775. Age, 28 years. Resi- 
dence, Moretown, Vt. Enlisted June 19, 1775. XV, 159, 
161. Discharged, December 15, 1775. XIV, 16.'/. Was in 
Captain John Parker's company. XIV, 112, 116, 111. Same 
man, probably, in Captain Esterbrook's company. Colonel 
Timothy Bedel's regiment, in 1770. XIV, 288. ^See also 
XXX, Jjl/l. A John Kennady was claimed by the town of 
Salisbury as serving to the credit of that town. Date not 
given. Probably refers to same man. XIII, 381.) 



Robert Lakin. Was the son of William and Priscilla 
(Ames)* Lakin, and was born in Groton, January 9, 1763 

* History of Hancock says his mother's name was Anna Gresrg. 



Personal and Military Sketches. 225 

Went with his parents to Society Land, now the towns of 
Hancock and Antrim. After the war he went to Salem, 
Washington County, New York, and later went from there 
to Sandgate, Vermont, where he probably died. Date un- 
known. 

A private in Captain Benjamin Spaulding's company of 
Colonel Moses Nichols's regiment, which joined the army at 
West Point in 1780. Enlisted July 7, 1780; discharged, 
October 21st; term, three months, 15 days. Wages per 
month, £134. (Ratio was 67 to 1). Total pay, travel and 
subsistence, £610 6s. XVI, 159. 



Samuel Lee. Nothing can be found of him except what 
is contained in the military rolls. He was not a member of 
Captain Alexander Robbe's militia company in 1776, and his 
name is not found on any town record. Date and place of 
birth unknown. 

He was one of the twelve men raised by order of the Com- 
mittee of Safety, addressed to Colonel Enoch Hale, in April, 
1777, directing him to furnish 119 men out of his militia 
regiment for the Continental Army. XIV, 577. Enlisted 
January 1, 1777, for three years, or during the war. Mus- 
tered December 17, 1777. Was paid a bounty of £20, and 8s 
lOd for travel. XIV, 612. He was a member of Captain 
William Scott's company, Colonel Joseph Cilley's regiment, 
and was on a roll of the same company and regiment, for 
service prior to January 1, 1780, to equalize the pay of sol- 
diers on account of the depreciation of the currency, and 
was paid |56.33. XV, 711. Name not found on rolls of 
those who answered the Ticonderoga Alarm, June 29, 1777. 
At that date he was serving in Colonel Cilley's regiment. 
Supposed to have died of disease or wounds, March 28, 1778. 
His name is on no military roll after that date, except the 
depreciation roll above named, which is not inconsistent with 
his death in 1778. 
16 



226 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

Solomon Leonard. No data discovered relating to him 
except what is found in the military rolls. A Solomon 
Leonard was living in Plainfield, N. H., in 1790. Whether 
he was the Revolutionary soldier is uncertain. Date and 
place of birth unknown. 

Private in Captain William Scott's company which 
answered the Lexington Alarm, April 10, 1775. Service, 
three days. Enlisted into Captain William Scott's com- 
pany of Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment, April 23, 
1775. On pay roll of same company August 1st, and on 
company return dated October 6, 1775. Gave order for 
bounty coat, November 14, 1775 ; discharged, December 31st. 
Service, eight months, seven days. Mass. Rolls, Vol. IX, 
page 705. N. H. State Papers, Vol. XV, 739. 



Samuel Lewis. His parentage and the place and date 
of his birth cannot be found. Probably a resident of Peter- 
borough in 1777 and 1778, and possibly earlier. He married 
one Mary Williams. He lived in Amherst two years, date 
unknown, and was residing in Dublin before 1780, and where 
he died in 1790. 

A private in Captain Abel Walker's company of Colonel 
Benjamin Bellow's regiment which marched to reinforce the 
army at Ticonderoga in 1777. Enlisted May 7th; dis- 
charged, June 18th ; service, one month 12 days. Wages, £4 
10s per month. Total pay and ti^avel £7 13s lid. XV, 10. 
Private in Captain Alexander Robbe's company which 
answered the Ticonderoga Alarm in 1777. Enlisted June 
29th ; discharged, July 3, 1777 ; service, five days. Total pay 
and travel, £1 15s 10^. XV, 101, lOJf. Corporal in Captain 
Stephen Parker's company of Colonel Moses Nichols's regi- 
ment. Enlisted July 19, 1777 ; discharged, September 26th ; 
service, two months, seven days. Wages per month, £4 14s. 
Total pay and travel, £12 12s 8d XV, 219. 



Thomas Little. He was the son of Thomas Little, and 
came to this country about 1736 with his parents, when ten 



Personal and Military Sketches. 227 

years of age. Arrived in town about 1764, and lived alter- 
nately in Peterborough and Shirley, some of his children 
being born in Shirley and some in Peterborough. He mar- 
ried Susanna Wallace, daughter of William and Elizabeth 
Wallace, and died while on a visit to Shirley, June 6, 1808, 
aged 82 years. 

Private in Captain Henry Haskell's company of Colonel 
William Prescott's Mass. regiment. He was on pay and 
abstract roll for mileage to and from headquarters, Cam- 
bridge, dated January 1.3, 1776. Eesidence. Peterborough. 
Date of enlistment and discharge not given. Mass. Rolls, 
Vol. IX, page 872. See State Papers, y. H., Vol. XV, 753. 
Enlisted into Captain Stephen Parker's company of Colonel 
Moses Nichols's regiment, July 19, 1777. Discharged, 
September 20th. Service, two months, two days. Wages, 
£4 10s per month. Total pay and travel, £10 18s Qd. XY, 
221. 



Timothy Locke. Lived in Sharon, but place and date 
of birth and death unknown. His name is not found in the 
New Hampshire or Massachusetts census returns for 1790, 
and his movements subsequent to the war cannot be learned. 
He entered the army when very young. 

A private in Captain Daniel Reynolds's company of 
Colonel Hercules Mooney's regiment for service in Rhode 
Island in 1779. Enlisted July 9,1779. Discharged, January 
4, 1780. Term, five months, 27 days. Was paid a bounty of 
£30. Wages per month, £12. Total pay, travel, bounty and 
subsistence, £137 2s. XY, 664, 665, 671, 677. XIII, page 
327. At the time of this enlistment he was an apprentice to 
John Swan : 

"Received of the Selectmen of Peterborough Slip Thirty- 
nine pounds, it being the bounty and travel moneys to 
Providence for my apprentice Timothy Locke, he enlisted, 
passed muster and went. 

Jn*' Swan. 

Peterborough Slip, July 14, 1779." 



228 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

"State of New Hampshire to the Selectman of Peterborough 

Slip, Dr. 
"for the State Bounty paid to John Swan for his appren- 
tice, Timothy Locke, who enlisted a soldier for six months to 
Rhode Island & went July 14, 1779, £30. Also paid him 
Travel money to Providence for s*^ apprentice £9 — £39." 
XVI, 835. 

This service was to the credit of Sharon. Enlisted as a 
recruit into the Continental Line, June 28, 1780 ; discharged, 
December 31st; service, six months, three days. Allowed 
for blanket, £335, and for travel, £57. XVI, 82. On a re- 
turn of new levies mustered by Major Scott for the army, 
age 18 years. Residence, Peterborough. XVI, 90. On a 
return of men in Captain Gilman's company in 1781. Rank, 
fifer; residence, "Petersborough ;" went for Peterborough. 
XVI, 221. Enlisted into Captain Jeremiah Gilman's com- 
pany, Colonel Joseph Cilley's regiment, in January or Feb- 
ruary, 1781. Service, for the war. Rank, drummer. Was 
paid |88. XVI, 268. Accredited to, and resident of, Peter- 
borough. XVI, 517, 79 Jf. He served until the end of the 
war in 1783. 



Daniel Mack. Was the son of John and Isabel (Brown) 
Mack, and was born in Londonderry, N. H., about 1750. He 
came to Peterborough before the Revolution, and signed the 
Association Test in 1776. Married Nancy Holmes, sister of 
Nathaniel Holmes, of Peterborough, by whom he had eight 
children. Early in 1777 he removed to Ackworth, N. H., and 
later to Tompkins County, N. Y., where he probably died, on 
a date unknown. 

The History of Peterborough says, page 154, that he 
answered the Lexington Alarm, April 19, 1775, but no rolls 
of this service can be found. 

A sergeant in Captain William Keyes's regiment of Colonel 
Benjamin Bellows's regiment, which answered the Ticonde- 
roga Alarm in 1777. Enlisted June 28; discharged, July 
9, 1777. Service, 12 days. Was paid for wages and travel, 



Personal and Military Sketches. 229 

£3 18s 4d XV, 33. A private in Captain Samuel Canfield's 
company of Colonel Benjamin Bellows's regiment which 
marched to reinforce the American army at Saratoga. En- 
listed, September 21, 1777; discharged, October 21st. Ser- 
vice, one month, one day. Wages for this (and the first) 
enlistment, £4 10s per month. Total pay and travel second 
enlistment, £6 4s 6d XV, page 369. 



John Mathews (or Mathies). Born in England in 
1752. Date of arrival in this country unknown. After the 
war he removed to Jaffrey, N. H., where he married Sally 
Wesson, daughter of Isaac and Lucy (Bean) Wesson, in 
May, 1784. Died in Jafifrey, June 26, 1832, aged 80 years. 

A member of Captain William Scott's company which 
answered the Lexington Alarm, April 19, 1775; service, 
three days. Enlisted into Captain W^illiam Scott's company 
of Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment, April 23, 1775. 
On pay roll for three months and 16 days' service, dated 
August 1, same company. Also on a return of same dated 
October 6. Discharged, December 31, 1775. Service, eight 
months, seven days. Residence, Peterborough. Mass. 
Rolls, Vol. X, 349, 355. N. H. State Papers, Vol. XV, 739, 
and XIV, 35, where he is claimed as one of the Temple men. 
Before this term was out he enlisted (company and regiment 
unknown) and served one year. Enlisted into the Seventh 
Company of Colonel Joseph Cilley's (N. H.) regiment, 
January 1, 1777, for three years. Roll in Vol. XIV, ^68, 
says enlistment was in 1776. On list of men returned by 
Colonel Enoch Hale under order of Committee of Safety, 
dated April, 1777, to recruit 119 men out of his militia regi- 
ment for the Continental army. XIV, 577. On a pay roll 
to equalize the pay of soldiers on account of the depreciation 
of the currency for service prior to January 1, 1780, and was 
paid 1182.60. XV, 717. On pay roll of same company and 
regiment for service in 1781, and was paid |65.30. XVI, 
270. On roll of Peterborough soldiers enlisted for the war 
and dated July 23, 1781. XVI, 794. Claimed by the town 



230 Peterhorough in the Revolution. 

as one of its men. XVI, 517. He belonged to Captain 
Moody Dustin's company. XVI, 223. Discharged, De- 
cember 31, 1781. Joined the First New Hampshire regiment 
from desertion, March 7, 1781. XVI, 306. Service about 
eight years. In his application for pension he says he was 
discharged in June, 1783. In 1778, along with others, he 
signed the following receipt : 

''We the Subscribers do acknowledge that each of us 
have received of Colonel Cilley the sum of Twenty pounds 
Lawful Money in full for our bounty from the State of New 
Hampshire, and that we have received no bounty from said 
State heretofore, and likewise do acknowledge that we have 
given a duplicate of this rec't. 

(Signed) Jno (his mark) Mathes. 
Camp Valley Forge, April 27, 1778." 
XV, 653. 

(A John Mathews is on the Jaflfrey town accounts for 
fourteen days' service in 1775 — 18s 8d; for travel to Cam- 
bridge, lis 8tZ; for property lost at Trenton, £1 4s; for 
going to Cambridge and loss on the lakes, £3 19s id. 
XVI, 536. Also a John Mathews enlisted into the 
army in 1775, and serving in 177G, is claimed to be to the 
credit of Temple. XVI, 854- On all military rolls, John 
Mathews is accredited to Peterborough.) 

He was in service in 1782, in First New Hampshire regi- 
ment, and probably served till the end of the the war. Kid- 
der's First N. H. Regt. Page 165. Was a member of 
Captain Isaac Frye's company. Enlisted, February, 1782, 
XXX, 493. 

His application states : "I entered the Service as Private, 
in the Spring of the year 1775, for the term of 8 months, and 
served the time out. Then I enlisted, or perhaps before my 
8 months was out I enlisted for the term of one year, and 
served that time out. About this time I entered the Service 
for the time of during the war, but as I was in the war 
during the whole of it, I cannot remember the dates of my 
enlistments. I served during the War in the 1st Company 
Commanded by Capt. Scott and 1st Kegiment Commanded 
by Col. Silley in the N. H. Line, and at the end of said War, 



Personal and Military Sketches. 231 

I believe in the summer of 17S3 I was discharged when the 
War men were discharged, but my discharge is lost, and that 
from mv reduced Circumstances I need the assistance of mr 
Counu-y for support. 

(Signed) John (his mark) Mathews." 

The application is dated April 20. 1818. On June ith. 
of the same year he filed another application, in which he 
says "that on the first day of January. 1776 tl777j, he en- 
listed in Cambridge. State of Mass. in the Company Com- 
manded by Capt. William Scott, 1st Kegiment of Infantry 
y. H. Line ; and that he served until June 1783. when he was 
discharged from the Service at Xewburgh. New York. That 
he was in the battle of Bunker Hill. 1775. White Plains. 
Saratoga, with the Indians under Sullivan. Monmouth and 
at the taking of Cornwallis." That. etc. ( same as in first 
application.) The claim was allowed. 

Under the act of Congress requiring pensioners to ex- 
hibit a schedule of their property and their annual income, 
he states in a certificate dated July 5, 1820, that his "occupa- 
tion is that of a farmer. Health, owing to useless arm and 
bodily infirmity, unable to work. Family consists of wife. 
Sarah, aged 60. in tolerable good health, for a person of her 
years, and daughter Lavina. aged 16, "non compos." '■ 
Schedule of His Property. 
"Whole estate ( necessary Clothing and bedding excepted) 
of John Mathews of Jaffrey. County of Cheshire. X. H. : 
Keal Estat(^House and land f 1.50.00 

Personal— 2 Tables 3.00 

6 Chairs 2.00 

Iron Ware 1.50 

Cooking Ware, etc 3.00 

Shovel & tongs .25 

Looking glass .75 

Umbrella .50 

Wheel & Eeel 2.00 



1163.00'- 

After his death his widow. August 8. 1838. filed a claim 
for pension, which was allowed. She had diflSculty in prov- 
ing her marriage which was not fotind in the town records, 



232 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

but the defect was supplied by Rev. Laban Ainsworth, pastor 
of the church, who made affidavit that he married them in 
May, 1784, and that since their marriage the record of 
marriages kept by him, together with his house, had been 
destroyed by fire. The claim was granted and she received 
|200 arrears of pension. At this time (1838) Mrs, Mathews 
was residing in New Ipswich. In 1843, while living in 
Peterborough, she asked for an increase of pension to $8 per 
month, which was granted. The place of her death is un- 
known. John Mathews served over eight years in the army. 



Peter McAllister. Was the son of William and Janet 
(Cameron) McAllister, and was born in Londonderry, N. H., 
about 1750. Sometime before 1768 he removed to Sharon. 
In that year he was one of the petitioners for the separation 
of the inhabitants of Peterborough Slip from the people on 
the east side of the mountain. XIII, 549. He lived in 
Sharon until about 1785, when he removed to Chester, Vt., 
where he resided for several years. In 1770 his widowed 
mother and younger sons removed to Jafifrey, N. H. Peter 
McAllister was one of the first settlers of Sterling, Vt., 
which town was organized in 1806. He was the moderator 
of the first town meeting and one of the first board of Select- 
men. He was married before the Revolution. Probably he 
died in Sterling, Vt., but date is unknown. 

A private in Captain Francis Towne's company of 
Colonel David Gilman's regiment raised to reinforce the 
army in New York in 1776. Enlisted, December 5th; dis- 
charged, March 5, 1777. Service, three months, eleven days. 
Was paid one month's wages in advance, and 20s per month 
over the stated wages, as a bounty. Advance pay was £3, and 
allowed for travel, £1 18s M. XIV, 436. Accredited to 
Peterborough in Town History. See page 154. 



Randall McAllister. Was born in Scotland, Septem- 
ber 21, 1744. Was conscripted into the British army, and 



Personal and Military Sketches. 233 

came to this country with an English regiment prior to the 
Revolution. He deserted a short time before the war broke 
out . Whether he was ever in Peterborough before his enlist- 
ment into the American army, is unknown. After the war 
he settled in to^Ti; married Mary, daughter of William 
Blair. Died in Peterborough, May 23, 1819, aged 75 years. 
His daughter, an only child, married William Field, and 
many of their descendants are still in town. 

A member of Captain William Scott's company which 
answered the Lexington Alarm, April 19, 1775. Service, 
three days. Enlisted into Captain William Scott's company 
of Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment, April 23, 1775. 
A Sergeant of the company. On muster roll of the company 
dated August 1, 1775, and on return of same October 6th. 
Gave order for bounty coat, November 11, 1775. Wounded 
at battle of Bunker Hill. Discharged, December 31, 1775. 
Service, eight months, seven days. Mass. Rolls, Vol. X, 
pages Ifll, 412, 418, US, 552. X. H. State Papers, XV, 739; 
XIV, 42. 

Private in Captain John Taggart's company which 
marched from Peterborough Slip (Sharon) to relieve the 
garrison at Ticonderoga, June, 1777. Enlisted June 30, 
1777; discharged, July 4th. Pay and travel £1 los lOd. 
Service, five days. XV, 104- Private in Captain William 
Scott's company of Colonel Henry Jackson's regiment. En- 
listed July 29, 1777, for three years, and accredited to 
Peterborough. XV, 421. On roll of Seventh Company of 
Colonel Jackson's regiment, ordered by Congress, March 15, 
1779. XVI, 41- On a roll of sundry persons certified in 
Colonel Henry Jackson's regiment, ''for three years, Made 
up in the Massts State," dated August 21, 1783. In this 
roll his pay in specie for three years is £58 2s 8f?, and "for 
what they were made up in 1780," £41 6s 2d. XVI, 55. 
On this roll he is credited to Attleborough, Mass. Attached 
to this pay roll is the following certificate : 

"This certifies the above is a true Copy of the Settlemt 
made by the Committee for Settling with ye Mass^ Line of 



234 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

the Army with ye above persons agreeable to a Return Signed 

by Colo Henry Jackson. 

John Deming 
Thos Walley 
XVI, 55. Committee." 

He is also on the rolls as a private in Captain Joseph 
Fox's company, Colonel Henry Jackson's regiment, under 
the name of Ranby McAllister, alias Randall McAllister, of 
Continental pay accounts for service from July 29, 1777, to 
December 31, 1779, and from January 1, 1780, to June 29, 
1780. Credited to the town of Attleborough, Mass. Also 
Captain Lemuel Trescott's company of Colonel David Hen- 
ley's regiment; pay rolls for April and May, 1778, sworn to 
at Providence. Reported on command with Paymaster 
General in May, 1778. On pay roll for July, 1779. In 
Captain Trescott's company, Colonel Jackson's regiment, 
pay roll for October, 1779. Also in Captain William Scott's 
company of Colonel David Henley's regiment; pay roll for 
November, 1778. On regimental return made up to Decem- 
ber 31, 1779. Also Captain Joseph Fox's (Seventh) com- 
pany. Colonel Henry Jackson's regiment. Muster roll for 
April, 1779, dated Pawtuxet. Enlisted June 29, 1777, for 
three years, for Attleborough. Reported discharged, June 
29, 1780. Residence, Peterborough. Mass. Rolls, Vol. X, 
pages Jfll, Jtl2, 418, 44S, 552. On a pay roll of men belong- 
ing to New Hampshire serving in Massachusetts regiments. 
Paid £15. XVI, 101. On roll of Colonel Alexander Scam- 
mel's regiment for payment of soldiers on account of the 
depreciation of the currency, for service in 1781. Paid 
139.70. XYI, 213. On a similar role of same regiment for 
service prior to January 1, 1780, and was paid |163. XV, 
733. On roll of New Hampshire men in additional regi- 
ments and independent corps of the army. Residence, 
Peterborough. XVI, 303. Order dated October, 1784, to 
pay his wages due for six months' service in the militia, to 
Lieutenant Mathew Wallace. XIII, 183. He was badly 
wounded at Bunker Hill, in the face and side of the neck, 



Personal and Military Sketches. 235 

the ball having entered the mouth, and coming out one-half 
in the back of the neck and the other* half in the mouth. A 
comrade who knew the circumstances of his desertion, and 
the danger to him if he fell into the enemy's hands, took him 
on his back, and carried him across Charlestown Xeck to a 
place of safety. Notwithstanding this peril, however, he 
subsequently served three years in the army. Genealogies, 
page I40. In 1784 the State paid him £11 18s 8d deprecia- 
tion money for his service in 1780. XX, 2^0. He was a 
United States pensioner, but the papers in his case were 
destroved when the British raided Washington in 1811. 



George McClourge (or McClourg or McClurg). Was 
the son of Charles and Esther McClourge, and was born in 
Londonderry, X. H., May 18, 1728. He married Anna 
Wallis, daughter of William and Elizabeth (McClayland) 
V.'allis. He came to Peterborough some time prior to 1761. 
In that year, T\ith four other citizens, he signed a protest 
against the Fourth Article of a Warrant for a Town Meeting 
held January 3, 1761, whereby it was proposed to "Commis- 
sionate Rev. Mr. Morrow to send us a minister when he 
returned to Ireland, and that he should have a new beaver 
hat if he would accept of it.'' At one time he or his family 
owned land east of the William Wilson estate. He removed 
to Hancock, and died there, or in Antrim, some time after 
the Revolution. His two sons, George and Robert, served 
in the Revolution. 

Answered the Lexington Alarm, April 19, 1775. Service, 
three days. April 23, 1775, enlisted into Captain William 
Scott's company of Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment. 
On pay roll dated August 1st, and on return dated October 
6th, Receipted for bounty coat, and discharged December 
31, 1775. Service, eight months, seven days. Was wounded 
at battle of Bunker Hill, June 17. XIT, 4^. llass. Rolls, 
Vol. X, pages 437-Ul- ^- B. State Papers, XT, 739. On a 
descriptive list of men raised by the town of Ipswich, Mass., 
to serve in the Continental Army for nine months, as re- 



236 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

turned to Colonel Jonathan Coggswell, dated Ipswich, July 
4, 1778. Descriptive list as follows: Age, 48 years; stature, 
five feet, eleven inches; complexion, dark; residence, Peter- 
borough, N, H. Also on a list of men returned as mustered 
by Henry Rutgers, Deputy Muster Master, dated Fishkill, 
August 1, 1778. Arrived at Fishkill July 19, 1778. Mass. 
Rolls, Vol. Xy pages JtSl, 441- 

For service in French and Indian War under name of 
George McLeod, see ante, page 8. 



George McClourge (or McClourg or McClurg). Was 
the son of George McClourge, the preceding, and was born 
either in Peterborough or Londonderry, January 10, 1760. 
He lived in town until near the outbreak of the war, when he 
removed to Hancock with his father. Place and date of 
death unknown. 

Enlisted into Captain Joseph Parker's company of Colonel 
Isaac Wyman's regiment. Mustered and paid July 18, 
1776. Paid a bounty of £6, and one month's pay and travel, 
fl 2s, in advance. Served till December 1st. Term, four 
months, thirteen days. XIV, 333. 

There is nothing in the rolls to distinguish the service 
of the father from that of the son, save the enlistment in 
1778 referred to in the Mass. Rolls, Vol. X, 431, 441- 
There is no doubt, however, but that the father should be 
accredited with the service in Colonel Sargent's regiment in 
1775, and the son for the enlistment in Colonel Wyman's 
rejiiment in 1776. 



Robert McClourge (or McClourg or McClurg). Son of 
George McClourge, Sr., ante. Born either in Londonderry 
or Peterborough, February 13, 1755. Removed to Hancock 
with his father just prior to the Revolution. Place and date 
of death unknown. 

A member of Captain William Scott's company which 
answered the Lexington Alarm, April 19, 1775. Service, 
three days. Enlisted into Captain William Scott's company 



Personal and Military Sketches. 237 

of Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment, April 23, 1775. 
On pay roll of same company and regiment, August 1st, and 
on company return dated October 6th. Receipted for bounty 
coat, November 14tli; discharged, December 31, 1775, Ser- 
vice, eight months, seven days. Residence, Peterborough 
and Antrim. Mass Rolls, X, 437, 441- ^^. 3. State Papers, 
Vol. XV, 739, where he is accredited to Peterborough. En- 
listed into Captain Joseph Parker's company of Colonel 
Isaac Wyman's regiment in 1776. Mustered July 18th, and 
was paid a bounty of £6, and one month's pay and travel, £4 
2s, paid in advance. Served till December 1st. Term, four 
months, 13 days. XIV, 333. Probably the same man under 
the name of Robert McClure, enlisting into Captain William 
Keyes's company of Colonel Benjamin Bellows's regiment, 
which answered the Ticonderoga Alarm in 1777. Enlisted 
June 27th; discharged, July 9th. Service, twelve days. 
Wages, £4 10s per month. Total pay and travel, £3 15s 2d. 
XV, 33. On this roll his name is given as McClure. The 
name is spelled differently on different rolls. 

(A Robert McClurgh is on the depreciation rolls for ser- 
vice prior to 1780 in the Sixth Company of Colonel George 
Reid's regiment, and was paid |182.60. XV, 723, and on a 
similar roll for service in 1780, and was paid |1.50. XVI, 
206. This man may have been from Windham). 



Charles McClourg (or McClurgh), No facts can be 
learned of this man beyond what relate to his military 
service His name is on the list of to\\Ti soldiers. See 
History of Peterl)orough, page 154. 

Enlisted into Captain Benjamin Spaulding's company 
of Colonel Moses Nichols's regiment for service in the Conti- 
nental army at West Point, July 7, 1780. Discharged, Oc- 
tober 21, 1780. Service, three months, fifteen days. Wages 
per month, £134 (ratio, 67 to 1) ; allowed for rations, £10 
10s; travel, £130 6s, Total, £610 6s. In specie the pay was 
£2 per month, and blanket fo.OO. XVI, 159. Residence, not 
given. Place and date of birth and death not found By 



238 Peterhoi'ough in the Revolution. 

this roll he was allowed the same for travel that Thomas 
Davidson, Abiel Parker and Kobert Lakin, Teterborough 
soldiers, were allowed, which shows that he was from the 
same place. 



Charles McCoy. Son of William McCoy, who purchased 
with William Smith, of John Hill, in 1774, three lots of 
fifty acres each on the east side of the Street Road, begin- 
ning on the north line of Sharon. See ''Home of the Smith 
Family," page 74. He came to town in 1752 or 1753. 
Charles, his son, was born February 17, 1761. He married 
Jane Templeton, a daughter of James Templeton. Hist, of 
Peterborough, Genealogies, page I'll. He died in Peter- 
borough, February 10, 1828. 

He was a private in Captain Stephen Parker's company 
of Colonel Moses Nichols's regiment. General Stark's bri- 
gade, which (company) marched from New Ipswich, in 1777, 
to join General Gates at Stillwater. Was in the battle of 
P»ennington, August 16th. Enlisted, July 19, 1777; dis- 
charged, September 20th. Service, two months, two days; 
wages, £4 10s per month. Total pay and travel. £10 18s 6(7. 
XY, 221. Also a private in Captain Samuel Cunningham's 
company of Colonel Enoch Hale's regiment which joined the 
Continental army in Rhode Island in August, 1778. En- 
listed August 10, 1778; discharged, August 28. Term, 21 
days. Total pay and travel, £11 2s. XV, 539. He always 
resided in Peterborough, and died February 10, 1828, aged 
67 years. 

(A Charles McCoy was a private in Captain Samuel Mc- 
Connell's company in Colonel Thomas Stickney's regiment 
from July 19, 1777, to September 18th — 1^\'0 months. The 
regiment was in the battle of Bennington. XV, 175. The 
regiment marched from Pembroke, N. H. Also same man 
in Lieutenant-Colonel Connor's detachment which marched 
from Pembroke to Saratoga in 1777. Enlisted September 
29th ; discharged, October 18th. Service, twenty days. Paid 
£6 6s Sd. XV, 415. Also a Charles McCoy, residence. Sun- 



Personal and Military Sketches. 239 

cook (Allen town), was in Captain Gordon Hutcliins's com- 
pany of Colonel Stark's regiment in 1775; Enlisted, April 
23d. On pay roll dated August 1, 1775. XIV, 63; XVII, 
3. Receipted for milk money, February 1, 1776, from Oc- 
tober Ith to December 2i, 1775. XVI, 926. Receipted for 
blanket or its equivalent in money, September 20, 1775. 
XIV, 186. This man joined Captain Henry Dearborn's 
company, and was with General Arnold at siege of Quebec. 
XIV, 210. A man of same name was a recruit in the Con- 
tinental service in 1780. Went for Allenstown. Enlisted 
June 27th ; discharged, December 15th ; service, six months. 
XVI, 86. Charles McCoy, of Pembroke, mustered by Major 
Scott into the Continental service, in 1780. Age, 23 years. 
XVI, 93). 



William McCoy. Born in 1727, and came to Peter- 
borough in 1752 or 1753. In company with William Smith 
he purchased three lots on the east side of the Street Road, 
north of the Sharon line, but later removed to the northeast 
part of the town. He died in Peterborough, March 1, 1794, 
aged 67 years. Charles McCoy, the preceding, was his son. 

He enlisted into Captain Samuel Cunningham's company 
of Colonel Enoch Hale's regiment for the campaign in Rhode 
Island in 1778, August 10th ; discharged, August 28th. Ser- 
vice, 21 days. Pay and travel, £11 2s. XV, 538. History 
of Peterborough says that he served in the army at Cam- 
bridge in 1775, but his name is not on any roll of men in 
that campaign. 

(A William McCoy served in Captain Amos Gage's com- 
pany of volunteers which marched from Pelham in 1777, and 
joined the army at Stillwater. Enlisted September 29, 1777, 
discharged, October 28th. Service, one month. Total pay 
and travel. £8 7s 2(1. XV, 359. Whether he was the same 
one serving in Captain Cunningham's company is uncertain.) 



James McKeen (or McKeax). Was the son of John and 
Mary McKeen, and was born in Londonderry, June 15, 1739. 



240 Peterhorough in the Revolution. 

Not known when he came to Peterborough, Married Mar}-, 
daughter of Thomas Cunningliam, and died in Peter- 
borough, February 20, 1776, aged 37 years. 

A private in Captain William Scott's company which 
answered the Lexington Alarm, April 19, 1775. Service, 
three days. Enlisted into Captain William Scott's company 
of Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment, April 23d. On 
muster roll of same company dated August 1st, and on com- 
pany return dated October 6th. Gave order for bounty coat 
or its equivalent in money, November 11th. Residence, 
Peterborough. Discharged, December 31, 1775, Service, 
eight months, seven days. 3Iass. Rolls, Vol. X, page 517. 
See N. H. State Papers, XV, 739. 

(A James McKeen of Amherst served in Captain Ebe- 
nezer Webster's company of rangers in 1782. XVI, 297). 



William McKeen (or McKex\.n). Was born in London- 
derry, January 20, 1751, and was a brother of James Mc- 
Keen, the preceding. He was a resident of Peterborough at 
the beginning of the war, and married Nancy Taylor ; he was 
a member of Captain Alexander Robbe's company of militia 
in January, 1776, and signed the Association Test in that 
year. 

A member of Captain William Findlay's company of 
volunteers which marched from Londonderry in the fall of 
1777, and joined the American army at Saratoga. Enlisted 
October 1, 1777; discharged, November 4th. Service, one 
month, four days. Wages per month, £4 10s. Total pay 
and travel, £6 16s 2(1. XV, 395. Receipted for 14.s paid for 
billeting between Keene and Bennington. XV. Ji29. In 
1783 he removed to Maugerville, N. S., where he died in 
1824, aged 73 years. 



William McNee. Was the son of William McNee, one 
of the early settlers of Peterborough. He was born in 1740, 
probably in Roxbury, Mass. Married Betsey Russell and 
after his marriage removed to Dublin, where he resided in 



Personal and Military Sketches. 241 

1761, 1762, 1764 and 1765. Returned to Peterborough in 
1766, where he resided until his death, April 13, 1810, at the 
age of 70 years. He was a prominent citizen of the town and 
active in its public affairs. Chosen Selectman in 1775, 1776 
and 1779. Hist, of Peterhorough, page 11^1; Genealogies, 
page 212. In 1778 he was elected one of the Elders of the 
Presbyterian Church, and held the office until 1799, when he 
was chosen Deacon of the same Church, which had adopted 
Congregational usages, and held the office until his death. 
He illustrated tlie virtues of the patriotic citizen and consis- 
tent churchman through life. 

Sergeant in Captain Edmund Briant's company of Colonel 
Daniel Moore's regiment, which marched from New Ipswich 
to join the American army at Saratoga in 1777. Enlisted 
September 28, 1777; discharged, October 25th. Service, 28 
days. Wages, £4 lis 5d. Total pay and travel, £7 6s 5d XV, 
355. Sergeant in Captain Samuel Cunningham's company, in 
Colonel Enoch Hale's regiment which went to Rhode Island 
in 1778. Enlisted August 10, 1778; discharged, August 
28tli. Service, 21 days. Wages per month, £5 10s. Total 
pay and travel, £11 9s. XV, 538. See XIII, 184; ^VI, '^92. 



James Miller. Was born in Londonderry in 1738, and 
was the son of Samuel Miller of that town; when he came 
to Peterborough cannot be determined. He was active in 
public affairs, serving as Selectman in 1769. Married Cath- 
arine Gregg in 1766 or 1767. He died in Peterborough, No- 
vember 21, 1825, aged 87 years. 

A private in Captain Joshua Abbott's company of Colonel 
John Stark's regiment. Enlisted April 24, 1775. On mus- 
ter roll of same company and regiment dated August 1, 1775, 
and was paid for wages and travel, £9 Is lOd. XIV, 61. 
Receipted for four dollars in lieu of bounty coat, October 4. 
XIV, 182. Discharged, December 31, 1775. Service, eight 
months six days. 

(There was a James Miller private in Captain David 
Wilkins's company of Colonel Bedel's regiment in 1776. 

17 



242 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

XIY, 266. A James Miller of Bedford was in Lieutenant- 
Colonel Moses Kelley's regiment, in 1779. XV, 696; in 
Captain Uezekiah Lovejoy's company in 1779. XV, 698; 
and in a Massachusetts regiment, time unknown. XV, 75^. 
The identity of any of these with the Peterborough soldier 
is not established). 



John Miller. Was the son of Samuel Miller of London- 
derry, and brother of James, the preceding. Born in that 
town about 1742. His father had four sons (Mathew, John, 
William and James), for whom he purchased four hundred 
acres of land in the easterly part of the town. Date and 
place of his death unknown. Genealogies, page 145. His- 
tory of Peterborough. 

Private in Captain Edmund Briant's company of Colonel 
Daniel Moore's regiment which marched from New Ipswich 
to join the American army at Saratoga in 1777. Enlisted 
September 28, 1777; discharged, October 25th. Service, 28 
days. Wages, £4 10s per month. Total pay and travel, £6 
19s. XV, 356. On the roll of New Hampshire men in the 
Continental army in 1779. Enlisted June 15, 1779, for the 
war. Kesidence given, Peterborough. XV, 630, 6.^6. On 
rolls, to make good the pay of the New Hampshire men on 
account of the depreciation of the currency, prior to 1780, of 
the Second Company of the Third (Colonel Scammel's) Nef\\^ 
Hampshire regiment, and was paid |52,08. XV, 728. For 
this enlistment he was paid a Continental bounty, £90, and a 
State bounty of £60. XVI, 792. Described as never joined. 
XVI, 517, and as "transheant." XVI, 791 

(There was a John Miller from Portsmouth, enlisting 
January 21, 1777, and deserting June 1, 1779. XVI, IJ^, and 
see XIV, 6J,7, 650; XV, 595; XVI, 102, 169, 170, 516, 803.) 



Joseph Miller. Was the son of Samuel and grandson 
of Alexander Miller of Londonderry. He was born in Peter- 
borough in 1756. He was a resident of the town in 1775, 
and was a member of Captain Alexander Robbe's company 



Personal and Military Sketches. 243 

of militia in January, 1776. Went to Sharon prior to 1780, 
where he resided until 1800, when he removed to Belfast, 
Maine, where he died, July 26, 1842, aged 86 years. The 
births and deaths of his children are recorded in the Sharon 
records. He married Ann Wier in Peterborough. She died 
in Belfast in 1828. 

A private in Captain Alexander Robbe's company which 
answered the Ticonderoga Alarm in 1777 ; enlisted June 29th ; 
discharged July 3, 1777. Service, five days. Was paid for 
wages and travel, £1 15s lOd. XV, 101. A private in Cap- 
tain Samuel Cunningham's company of Colonel Enoch Hale's 
regiment for the defence of Rhode Island in 1778. Enlisted, 
August 10th ; discharged, August 28, 1778. Service, 21 days. 
Wages, £5 per month. Total pay and travel, £11 2s. XY, 
538. 



Samuel Miller. Probably the son of Mathew Miller, 
and was born in Peterborough, February 1, 1759; died in 
Rockingham, Vt., February 16, 1819, aged 60 years. Date 
of removal from Peterborough unknown. History of Peter- 
horoiigJi. Genealogies, page lJf5. He was living in town in 
May, 1783. XIII, 18Jf. Possibly the Samuel Miller named 
in the census of 1790, which see Genealogies, page 145. 

Was a private in Captain Stephen Parker's company of 
Colonel Moses Nichols's regiment. Enlisted, July 19, 1777; 
discharged, September 26th ; service, two months, eight days. 
Wages, £4 10s per month. Total pay and travel, £12 Is M. 
XV, 221. 

(There was a Samuel Miller in Captain Simeon Stevens's 
company of Colonel Timothy Bedel's regiment in 1778. 
XV, 587, and in service from Portsmouth at Piscataqua Har- 
bor, in 1779. XV, 693.) 



John Millet. Born in Gloucester, Mass., in 1761, and 
died in Arundel, Maine, December 10, 1840, aged 79 years. 
Probably from Temple. Whether he was ever a resident of 
Peterborough is doubtful. 



244 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

He is on a return of men in the First New Hampshire regi- 
ment, Colonel Cilley's, dated 1776. Enlistment during the 
war and serving to the credit of Peterborough, XIV, ^68. 
A note on this roll says : "The towns they came from is very 
uncertain." On a roll of men returned by Colonel Enoch 
Bale under an order from the Committee of Safety, April, 
1777, directing him to raise 119 men for the Continental army 
out of his regiment of militia. A member of Captain Wil- 
liam Scott's company, Colonel Joseph Cilley's regiment. Ac- 
credited to Temple. XIV, 575. Enlisted, February 15, 
1777, and by Colonel Hale's return is described as already 
being a member of Captain Scott's company. Paid a bounty 
of £20, and 9s 8d travel money. XIV, 612. On a roll of 
the First Company (Captain Scott's) of Colonel Cilley's 
regiment for service prior to January 1, 1780, to equalize 
the pay of soldiers on account of the depreciation of the 
currency, and was allowed |91.31. XV, 711. On a return 
by the Selectmen of Temple, sworn to, February 14, 1780, he 
is claimed by that town, and was paid £27 12s on March 28, 
1777. "Rec'd of the Town of Temple by the Committee the 
sum of Ninety-Two Dollars in full for enlisting into the 
Continental service as a soldier in part of the Quota of the 
Town, abovesaid, of the Three Battalions raising in the State 
of New Hampshire. John Millet. Temple, March 28, 
1777." XIII, 555. 

This was before Colonel Hale had received his order of 
April, 1777. XVI, 858, 860, 856. 

No doubt the same man is referred to, as he appears to 
have had but one enlistment. On record of town returns, he 
is reported dead. XVI, 521, and thereby hangs a tale many 
times repeated during the Civil War. 

He was so reported in one of Captain Scott's monthly 
returns, but it was not true. In 1818 he was residing in 
Arundel, Maine, and applied for a pension, and the follow- 
ing is taken from his declaration : "Sometime in the month 
of March, 1777, he enlisted under a recruiting oflicer belong- 
ing to the New Hampshire Troops for the term of three 



Personal and Military Sketches. 245 

years or during the War, and immediately proceeded to 
Ticonderoga where he was under a Captain of the name of 
William Scott and in the regiment commanded by Colonel 
Joseph Cilley. x x x Sometime in December, 1778, when 
being sick and in a State of mental derangement he received 
a Furlough for Forty days and was brought home by his 
brother who was a Sergeant in Said Company, and not again 
recovering his health for a year or more he did not return to 
the Army." The monthly return of Captain Scott's com- 
pany for November, 1778, shows that he was furloughed on 
the 20th of that month. His widow, who was living in 
Kennebunkport, Maine, in 1853, states in a paper relating 
to her own pension that her husband was born in Gloucester, 
Mass., in 1761, and died December 10, 1840. Among the 
papers on file in his case in the Pension Office at Washing- 
ton, is the following affidavit: 

"I, Robert B. Wilkins of Concord in the County of Rock- 
ingham in the State of New Hampshire on oath do declare 
that I was a Lieut in the 2^ New Hampshire Regt. Com- 
manded by Col. George Reid in the Continental Revolu- 
tionary Army, and was personally acquainted with John 
Millet who was a soldier in Captain William Scott's com- 
pany in the first New Hampshire Regt. Commanded by Col. 
Joseph Cilley. I became acquainted with him at the open- 
ing of the Campaign of 1777 he was in the battle at Bemis 
Heights on the lOtti of September 1777 and in the battle on 
the 7tli of October near the same place and in the same year, 
and continued faithfully to serve in said Company and 
Regt. which was cantooned at Valley Forge in Pennsylvania 
the winter of 1778, and was marched to Hartford in Connec- 
ticut, in the fall of said year and was there taken with a 
mental derangement which continued for a considerable time 
and he was furloughed and did not to my Knowledge join 
said Company again and I was informed by his brother 
Morris Millet who was a Sergeant in Said Company that 
John his brother was dead. But afterwards I was informed 
that it was a mistake and that he had recovered his health 
and senses, I think he was returned dead in the Weekly 
returns and Muster Rolls, however I am positive that he 
continued to serve Eighteen months in the years 1777 & 



246 Petci'horough in the Revolution. 

1778 and I know that John Millet of Arundel in the district 
of Main now in my presence is the Identical man which did 
the service above Stated. 

Robert B. Wilkins. 

Subscribed and Sworn to June 12, 1819." 

XVII, 470 and 411. 



Benjamin Mitchell. Was the son of Samuel Mitchell 
of Londonderry, who came to town in 1759. The son was 
born in Londonderry, January 9, 1755. He resided in 
Peterborough until a short time before his decease, when he 
removed to Temple, where he died September 21, 1810, aged 
85 years. He married Martha, daughter of Captain David 
Steele, in 1779. One of his sous, Stephen, was a lawyer; 
two, David and Frederick A., were physicians. His daugh- 
ter, Margaret, taught a high school for young ladies in New 
Ipswich, and married, first, Peter Batchelder; second hus- 
band. Deacon Stephen Holt. Benjamin Mitchell was one of 
the three survivors who signed the Association Test in 1776, 
present at the Centennial Celebration in 1839. History of 
Peterl)07'ough ; Genealogies, pages 162 and 163. 

On a muster and pay roll of Captain Abijah Smith's 
company in Colonel Nahum Baldwin's regiment, recruited 
out of Colonel Enoch Hale's regiment of militia, for service 
in New York, dated September 21, 1776. Discharged, De- 
cember 5th. The regiment was in the battle of White Plains, 
October 28, 1776. Paid by above roll a bounty of £6, and 
travel, £1 18s id. Service, about three months. XIV, 421- 
A private in Captain Stephen Parker's company of Colonel 
Moses Nichols's regiment, which marched from New Ips- 
wich in 1777, and joined the American army at Bennington 
and Stillwater. Enlisted, July 19, 1777; discharged, Sep- 
tember 20th. Service, two months, two days. Wages, £4 
10s per month ; total pay and travel, £10 15s 2d. XV, 221. 
See XIII, 184. No record of his service in 1775 can be 
found. 



Personal and Military Sketches. 247 

Isaac Mitchell. Was the son of Isaac and Jemima 
(Gray) Mitchell, and was born in Peterborough in 1761. 
In his application for pension in 1818, he states his age to 
be 57 years, which is conclusive as to the year of his birth. 
His father, Isaac, was of the Worcester and not of the 
Londonderry group of Scotch-Irish. He (the father) came 
to Peterborough from Worcester on a date unknown. He 
(the father) married his wife, who was a sister of Kelso 
Gray, of Peterborough, in Worcester, February 14, 1763, ac- 
cording to the Worcester records. See Hist, of Peter- 
borough, Genealogies, page 164- These discrepancies in 
regard to the soldier's birth as stated by Dr. Smith, and the 
date of his father's marriage as given by the Worcester 
records, are more than overcome by the other evidence, and 
by what the soldier himself says, and repeats, of his age in 
his pension papers. After the war he went to St. Lawrence 
County, New York. He married Jane Moore in Salem, New 
York, January 8, 1785, and died in Lisbon, New York, Oc- 
tober 14, 1848, aged 88 years. 

In 1776 the soldier served one year in Captain Ezra 
Towne's company of Colonel James Reed's New Hampshire 
regiment. There are no existing rolls of this service. 

He is one of the men returned by Colonel Enoch Hale 
under an order from the Committee of Safety, dated April 
1777, directing him to recruit 119 men out of his regiment 
of militia for the Continental army. XIV, 577. Enlisted, 
November 16, 1776. Age, 20 years; height, five feet, ten 
inches; born in Peterborough; residence, Peterborough. 
Enlisted at Ticonderoga. XVI, 934. In Captain Scott's 
company of Colonel Joseph Cilley's regiment. XIV, 577. 
Paid a bounty of £20, and 8s lOd for travel. In Captain 
Scott's company; served for Peterborough. Mustered De- 
cember 17, 1777. XIV, 612. On a return of men in Captain 
Farwell's company of Colonel Cilley's regiment for three 
years. XIV, J^tl. On pay roll of Seventh Company of 
Colonel Cilley's (First New Hampshire) regiment for ser- 
vice prior to January 1, 1780, to equalize the pay of soldiers 



248 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

on account of the depreciation of the currency, and was 
paid 1130.80. XV, 717. On a roll of the same company 
and regiment for service in 1781, and was paid $59.50. 
XVIj 270. Is on the list of soldiers for the town in the 
army sent on and returned April 2, 1781. XVI, 517. On 
town roll of men enlisted for the war, dated July 23, 1781. 
XVI, 794. He was discharged at Newburgh, N. Y., Novem- 
ber, 1783. 

(An Isaac Mitchell, from Hampton, served in Captain 
Robinson's company. Colonel Nathan Hale's regiment, in 
the Continental army for two years. Enlisted, March 3, 
1778. XIV, 629; XV, 456; XXX, 476. Also, by the follow- 
ing certificate there was a man by that name in Captain 
Scott's company enlisting for three years, but no printed 
roll of Captain Scott's company contains any such man. 

"this may Sartefi that I, Isaac Mitchell, not an Inhabitant 
of any Town is in Listed into the three years Sarves with 
Capt William Scott In the room and for to Do a turn for the 
space of three Years in Sayd Sarves, for the Reverend M^ 
Jonathan Saris and M^ Nathan Wheeler and Obadiah Parker 
In Consideration for having had Payed me one hundred 
Dollars over and a Bove the Bounty given for Sa*^ Sarves as 
witness my hand. 

Isaac (his mark) Mitchell. 

Mason, March Ye 19 : 1777. 

Test: Margret Spaor(?) James Moor." XVI, 739, 740.) 

The statement of age in XVI, 934, is obviously a mis- 
take. There was an Isaac Mitchell with his family in 
Peterborough before, during and after the war. He is ac- 
credited to the town on all military rolls except in XIV, 
629, (which refers to the man from Hampton), and XV, 456 
(also the Hampton man), and served three years. ^ee 
XVI, 934. There is no record on any roll of the man from 
Mason. He could not have been the man in the Seventh 
Company of Colonel Cilley's regiment. Captain Scott's 
company was the first company. 

The Peterborough Isaac Mitchell was a pensioner, and 
his application reads thus: 



Personal and Military Sketches. 249 

"That said Isaac Mitchell inlested in the Town of Peters- 
burgh, State of N. H. in the Company commanded by 
Capt Townsend (Ezra Towne) Regt. of Col. James Reid 
(Reed), N. H. Line. That he continued to serve in said 
Corps for the Term of one year, which was in the year of 
1776, and was Discharged by his Commanding Officer. 

That in October 177G, he enlisted in the Company com- 
manded by Capt. Isaac Farwell, Regt. of Col. Jonothan 
Silly (Cilley) for during the War, and continued to serve 
in said Corps, or in the Service of the United States till the 
end of the Revolutionary War, when he was Discharged 
from the Service in Newburgh, State of N. Y., by Capt. 
Henry Derburn (Dearborn), 1783. 

"That he was in the Battles of the Retreat from Ticon- 
deroga and Hubbardston, at the Battle of Stillwater and 
Saratoga on the Hudson River, when Gen. Burgoyne and his 
Army was Defeated in the year 1777. 

"And that he is in Reduced Circumstances in life, and 
stands in need of the Assistance of his Country for Support. 
And that he has no other evidence in proof of said Service. 

(Signed) Isaac Mitchell" 

In his schedule filed under the law of 1820, he says : 

"In the Regiment commanded by Col. George Reed in 
Capt. Townsend's Company of Infantry, N. H. Line, and 
elsewhere, as Stated in my Original Declaration. 

"That said Isaac Mitchell made his original Declaration 
and Application for Pension on the 27th day of April 1818, 
and the Number of his Pension Certificate is 2,535, and I, 
the said Isaac Mitchell, do solemly Swear that I was a Resi- 
dent Citizen of the United States — t&c Nor have any in- 
come other than what is contained in the Schedule hereunder 
written, and by me subscribed : to wit : 

"I hold a contract for 150 acres of land on which is a 
house and barn, but which contract is run out and expired 
and on which there is more due than my interest is worth in 
improvements including Principal and Interest. 

"I have also the following articles of Personal Property, 
besides necessary bedding and clothing : to wit :, 
One old Potash Kittle — One Bake-Pan — 
One small Kettle — One Frying-pan — 
One old Set Plough Irons — One set Drag-Teeth — One 
Fire-Shovel — One broken Chain — One Barn Shovel — Two 
Sickles — One old Sleigh — Three Pails — Three Milk-pans — 



250 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

One dozen Plates — One half Dozen Knives and Forks — Two 
Cream Jars — One set Cups and Saucers — One table — Four 
Bowls — One half dozen Spoons — Two Spinning-Wheels — One 
set Harness — One Chain — One augur — One Chisel — One 
Hammer. 

(Signed) Isaac Mitchell. 

"I also further declare on Oath that my Occupation is 
a Farmer ; that I am infirm, and have been unable to perform 
hard labor for five years, and that my infirmity Still con- 
tinues. That my Wife, Jane Mitchell, is still living, and 
her age is 55 years. She is afflicted with Rheumatism, but 
is at present able to Support herself. That 1 have three Sons 
living with me, to wit: William Mitchell, aged 35 years, he 
has one crooked leg but is at present able to Support him- 
self. John Mitchell, aged 33 years, who is entirely unable 
to Support himself, from want of Intellect. David Mitchell, 
aged 25 years, who is able to Support himself. 

''I have also three daughters living with me; to wit: 
Anna Mitchell, aged 20 years, who is able to Support herself. 
Jane Mitchell, aged 16 years, who is entirely unable to Sup- 
port herself, as well from mental inability, as from having a 
stiff arm; and Sally Mitchell, aged 13 years, who is able to 
Support herself. 

(Signed), Isaac Mitchell." 

After the soldier's death his widow applied for a pension. 
In her application she alleges : — 

"That she is a Widow of Isaac Mitchell, Soldier in the 
Army of the United States, and Revolutionary Pensioner 
under the Laws of said United States. Isaac Mitchell de- 
ceased October 14, 1848 in Lisbon, N. Y. and she remains his 
Widow. That she was married to said Isaac Mitchell on 
January 8th, 1785, by Rev. Mr. Proudfit, at Salem, N. Y. and 
her maiden name was Jane Moore. 

"Being infirm, and unable to appear in Open Court, the 
Declaration was taken at her house. 

(Signed) Jane Mitchell. 
Sworn and Subscribed before me 
September 29th A. D. 1849 

Edwin Dodge, 

County Judge, St. Lawrence Co. Court." 



Personal and Military Sketches. 251 

Letter to Commissioner of Pensions. 

"Isaac Mitchell received a Warrant for Land in 1792, for 
Service as Private, not as Sergeant. 

"His widow is entitled to the same amount." 

He served in the War of 1812. Referred to the 3d 
Auditor. 



James Mitchell. Probably a resident of the town, 
though his name is not found in the genealogies in Smith's 
History of Peterborough. He was one of the petitioners for 
a fort on Ritchie Hill some time between 1760 and 1767. 
The Mitchell family was from Londonderry and he may also 
have come from there. His name is not on the roll of 
Captain Alexander Robbe's company of militia in 1776, but 
is attached to the Association Test. Date and place of death 
unknown. 

Private in Captain William Scott's company which 
answered the Lexington Alarm, in 1775. Enlisted, April 20, 
1775; discharged, April 23d. Service, three days. Re- 
enlisted into Captain William Scott's company of Colonel 
Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment, April 23, 1775; dis- 
charged, December 31st. Service, eight months, seven 
days. On muster roll of the company dated August 
1st, also on return dated October 6th. Order for bounty 
coat, November 14th. Residence, Peterborough. 3Iass. 
Rolls, Vol. X, page 847. N. H. State Papers, Vol XV, 739. 
Private in Captain Alexander Robbe's company which 
answered the Ticonderoga Alarm in 1777. Enlisted, June 
29th; discharged, July 12th. Service fourteen days. Total 
pay and travel, £4 3s 8d. XV, 101; also private in Captain 
Stephen Parker's company, Colonel Moses Nichols's regi- 
ment which marched to Bennington and Stillwater same 
year. Enlisted, July 19, 1777; discharged, September 25th. 
Service, two months and seven days. Wages, £4 10s per 
month. Total pay and travel, £11 14s M. XV, 221. Ser- 
geant in Captain Joshua Abbott's company of Colonel Henry 



252 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

Gerrisli's regiment which marched from Concord to Sara- 
toga in 1777. Enlisted, September 28, 1777; discharged, 
October 26th. Service, 29 days. Wages, £4 18s per month ; 
total pay and travel, £7 12s 6d. XV, J,05. 

(A James Mitchell accredited to Mason enlisted into 
Captain Scott's company, Colonel Cilley's regiment in the 
Continental Army, April 10, 1777. Term not given. 
XV, 613.) 



John Mitchell. The History of Peterborough says John 
Mitchell served in the army in 1775, and answered to 
the Lexington and Walpole Alarms, in 1775 and 1777. 
But no such name can be found on any New Hampshire 
Revolutionary Roll, either as living in, or serving to 
the credit of, Peterborough. There was a John Mitchell 
in the army from Amherst, and another from Dover, 
but neither of the men can be identified with the town. 
On the Mass. Rolls, see Vol. X, pages 835, 848, is 
the name of a John Mitchell, a Sergeant, of Londonderry, 
who served in Captain Fox's company of Colonel Henry 
eTackson's (Mass.) regiment for three years, but neither on 
that or any other Mass. Roll can he be certainly connected 
with Peterborough. 



Samuel Mitchell. Was the son of Samuel Mitchell, of 
Londonderry, and a brother of Benjamin Mitchell. Ante. 
Born, April 22, 1753, in Londonderry, and came to Peter- 
borough with his father in 1759. He married Peggy Swan, 
and some time after 1790 — he was a resident of Peter- 
borough that year — removed to Manchester, Vt., where he 
died. 

Enlisted into Captain Ezra Towne's company. Colonel 
James Reed's regiment. May 18, 1775 ; discharged, December 
31st. Service, seven months, twelve days. Wages, forty 
shillings per month. Total pay, by the pay roll of August 
1st, to that date, including travel, coat and blanket, £7 9s. 



Personal and Military Sketches. 253 

XIV, 91. Receipted for four dollars in lieu of bounty coat, 
October 12th. XIV, 201. Descriptive list endorsed August 
4, 1775: "Capt. Ezra Towne's Company, Col. James Reed's 
regiment. Private, age 22 years, stature, 5 feet, 8 inches, 
complexion brown, eyes blue, occupation farmer. Birth- 
place, Peterborough; residence, Peterborough. Enlisted 
May 18, 1775. Mustered July 11, 1775." 3Iass. Rolls, Vol. 
X, 840. Private in Captain Alexander Robbe's company 
which answered the Ticonderoga Alarm in 1777. Enlisted 
June 29, 1777; discharged, July 3d. Service, five days. 
Total pay and travel, £2 15s lOd. XV, 101. Sergeant in 
regiment which marched from New Ipswich for Bennington 
and Stillwater, in same year. Enlisted July 19, 1777; dis- 
charged, September 26th. Service, two months, eight days. 
Wages, £4 10s per month. Total pay and travel, £12 19s Id. 

XV, 219. Enlisted October 6, 1777, into Captain William 
Scott's company in Colonel Henry Jackson's (Mass.) regi- 
ment, as appears by the following affidavit: 

"Peterborough^ January 16, 1781. 
State of New Hampshire, 
Hillshorough ss. 
"Personally appeared Samuel Mitchell, & after being 
duly Cautioned, Made Solemn Oath that he Inlisted a Ser- 
geant into Capt. W™. Scotts Company in Colo Henry Jack- 
son's Ridgt in y© Continental Army on the 6tli day of Oct^ 
1777, & Sarved as Sergeant in s<i Company three years Until 
ye 6th day of Ocf 1780, when he was Discharged — 

before Francis Blood, Justice Peace." 

XVII, page 415. 

Sergeant on pay roll of New Hampshire men in Colonel 
Jackson's regiment. Residence, Peterborough. XV, 427- 
See also XVI, 4^, 55 and 101. On list of men mustered by 
Nathaniel Barber, Muster Master for Suffolk County, Bos- 
ton, November 9, 1777. Captain Scott's company. Colonel 
Henley's regiment; also Sergeant in Captain Joseph Fox's 
(3d) company. Colonel Jackson's (16th) regiment. Enlisted 
June 26, 1777. Continental pay accounts for service from 



254 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

June 26, 1777, to December 31, 1779, and on same from 
January 1, 1780, to October 6, 1780 ; also on return certified 
at Camp near Morristown April 30, 1780, of men belonging 
to Colonel Lee's, Henley's and Jackson's regiments, and men 
belonging to Massachusetts in Colonel Henry Sherburne's 
regiment, who were incorporated into a regiment under 
Colonel Henry Jackson, April, 1779, Captain Fox's com- 
pany. On pay roll dated November, 1778, and on muster 
roll dated at Pawtuxet, April, 1779, and same roll at Provi- 
dence, dated October, 1779. Residence, Peterborough, N. H. 
Engaged for the town of Groton, October 6, 1777, for three 
years. Mass. Rolls, Vol X, 8.^0, 853. See also roll of New 
Hampshire men serving in the Independent regiments of the 
army, dated March 1, 1784, XVI, 303, where he is certified 
as of Colonel Jackson's regiment, and from Peterborough. 
By the roll of sundry persons (New Hampshire men) in 
Colonel Jackson's regiment, the amount of his pay in specie 
for three years was £83 15s lid, and amount for 1780, £30 
7s 5^. XVI, Ifl, 55. On the roll of Tenth Company of 
Third New Hampshire regiment for services in 1781, to 
make the pay of the men equivalent to the depreciation of 
the currency, and was paid |92. XVI, 213. On a similar 
roll of Ninth Company, Third New Hampshire regiment, 
for service up to January 1, 1780, and was paid $217.10. 
In 1785 the State paid him £18 8s depreciation money for 
service in 1780. XX, 273. XV, 733. 

"Boston, Jan'y 20, 1778. 
"Received of Oliver Prescott, Esq., sixty pounds cash, as 
a bounty for the town of Groton, and promise to serve in the 
Continental Army as a Soldier for the town of Groton, afore- 
said for three years. 

Samuel Mitchell." 
"This may certify that Sergeant Samuel ^litchell of the 
16th Massachusetts Regiment is Returned to the Board of 
War in Philadelpliia as one of tlie Quota for the State of 
New Hampshire he being an Inhabitant of s^ State. 
Whom it may H. Jackson Col' 

Concern 16 Massachusetts Reg*." 

XVII, 354. 



Personal and Military Sketches. 255 

(There was a Samuel Mitchell, private in Captain Ed- 
mund Briant's company of Colonel Daniel Moore's regiment. 
Enlisted, September 28, 1777, and discharged, October 25th. 
XV, 357. He could not have been the man serving in 
Colonel Jackson's regiment, for the latter enlisted October 
6th, same year, unless he enlisted out of Captain Briant's 
company directly into the Massachusetts regiment, which 
nowhere appears from the rolls.) 



William Mitchell. Nothing can be discovered relating 
to him outside of his army service. A man by that name 
signed a petition to Governor Benning Wentworth some 
time between 1760 and 1767, for the construction of a fort 
on Ritchie Hill. He may have been the Revolutionary sol- 
dier; but no such name is attached to the Association Test, 
nor to the roll of Captain Alexander Robbe's company of 
militia. Information as to the date and place of his birth 
and death is wanting. His name is not in the census of the 
town in 1790. 

A private in Captain William Scott's company which 
answered the Lexington Alarm, April 19, 1775. Service, 
three days. Enlisted into Captain William Scott's company 
of Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment, April 23, 1775. 
On pay roll of company dated August 1st, and on a return 
of same dated October 9th ; receipted for bounty coat or its 
equivalent in money, December 28, 1775. Discharged, De- 
cember 31st. Service, eight months, seven days. Residence, 
Peterborough. Mass. Rolls, Vol. X, pages 842, 855. N. H. 
State Papers, Vol. XV, 739. The History of Peterborough 
says he served in the army in 1776 — a one year's man. But 
no such record can be found on any printed roll. 

(A William Mitchell, residence not given, was in Captain 
Nicholas Rawlings's company of Colonel Abraham Drake's 
regiment in 1777. Enlisted September 8, 1777; discharged, 
October 29, 1777. XV, 326. A William Mitchell, of Con- 
cord, N. H., was in Stark's regiment in 1775, and was killed 



256 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

at Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775. XIV, ^2, 61. See also 
XVII, 22 and 3Jf for the record of a William Mitchell at 
Fort Sullivan, Portsmouth Harbor, in 1775. This man was a 
United States pensioner.) 



Timothy Mixter (or Mixer). Was the son of Major 
Joseph and Mary (Ball) Mixter, and was born in Shrews- 
bury, Mass., July 17, 1738. Married Mary Eames, of Fram- 
ingham, daughter of David and Elizabeth (Butler) Eames, 
born December IG, 1750, in 1769. He lived a short time in 
Framingham where his two children were born, and then 
removed to Peterborough in 1772, where he was living in 
1775, and signed the Association Test in 1776. He died be- 
fore 1790, as his name is not in the census of any New Eng- 
land State of that year. 

A member of Captain Alexander Robbe's company of 
militia in January, 1776. After the war he disappears and 
no trace of him is found. His family went to Coleraine, 
Mass., sometime while he was in service. There is abso- 
lutely no knowledge of him, except what is contained in 
the New Hampshire and Massachusetts Rolls, otherwise 
than stated ; place and date of death are unknown. 

Private in Captain William Scott's company, which 
answered the Lexington Alarm, April 20, 1775 ; discharged, 
April 23. Re-enlisted into Captain Scott's company of 
Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment, April 23d. Dis- 
charged, December 31st. Service, eight months, seven days. 
Wages, 40s per month. On pay roll of same company dated 
August 1st. On company return dated October 6, 
1775. Mass. Rolls, Vol. X, 858-9. N. H. State Papers, 
XV, 739. Private in Captain Alexander Robbe's com- 
pany which answered to the Ticonderoga Alarm in June, 
1777. Enlisted June 29, 1777; discharged, July 3d. Served 
five days. Total pay and travel, £1 15s lOd. XV, 101. En- 
listed for the war July 25, 1777, into Captain William Scott's 
(Ninth) Company of Colonel Henry Jackson's regiment. XV, 



Personal and Military Sketches. 257 

Ji27. On return, as private, of officers and men belonging 
to the State of New Hampshire, dated March 15, 1779, of 
same company and regiment. Residence, Peterborough. 
XVI, 47. July 29, 1779 (same company), receipted for £15. 
XVI, 101; on a return of New Hampshire men serving in 
additional regiments and independent commands filed in 
the War Office, March 1, 1784. XVI, 303. On town roll of 
soldiers. XVI, 517 and 794- On roll of Continental pay 
accounts from July 24, 1777, to December 31, 1779. Private 
in Captain Fox's (Seventh) company. Colonel Jackson's 
regiment; on muster roll dated Pawtucket, April, 1779; on 
similar roll dated Providence, October, 1779; on same, De- 
cember 31, 1779; on a return certified at Morristown, dated 
April 30, 1780, of men in Colonel Lee's, Henley's and Jack- 
son's regiments, incorporated with Colonel Henry Sher- 
burne's regiment into Colonel Jackson's regiment, April 
9,1779. Engaged July 24, 1777, for the war. Reported 
deserted, February 1, 1778; returned or re-taken, February 
12, 1779 ; deserted, November 8, 1779. Family reported as at 
Coleraine, Mass. Engaged by and served for the town of 
Groton, Mass. Residence given on rolls, Peterborough, N. 
H. Mass. Rolls, Vol. X, pages 858-859. XVI, 517, 794. 

^'January 29th, 1778. 
"Received of Oliver Prescott, Esq., sixty pounds cash as a 
bounty from the town of Groton, and promise to serve as a 
soldier in the Continental Army, for the town of Groton, 
three years. 

Timothy Mixter." 



James Moore. Was the son of David and Margaret 
(Taggart) Moore. Born in Londonderry, August 26, 1754. 
Married Margaret Mitchell, of Peterborough, at New Ips- 
wich, March 21, 1777. He died in Sharon, N. H., December 
5, 1831, aged 76 years. The family removed from London- 
derry to Sharon in 1759. His father gave him (James) the 
south part of his farm, on which the son always lived. 

A private in Captain William Scott's company which 

18 



258 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

answered the Lexington Alarm, April 19, 1775. Service, 
three days. Enlisted into Captain William Scott's company 
of Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment, April 23, 1775. 
Discharged, December 31st. Service, eight months, seven 
days. On pay roll of same company and regiment August 
1st, and on return dated October 6th. Gave order for bounty 
coat or its equivalent in money, November 14, 1775. Kesi- 
dence, Peterborough. Mass. Rolls, Yol. X, page 922. See 
N. H. State Papers, Yol. XV, 739. On a return of men 
raised under an order issued by the Committee of Safety, in 
April, 1777, addressed to Colonel Enoch Hale, to recruit 119 
men for the Continental Army. XIY, 577. On this return 
Colonel Hale states he is to be accredited to Sharon. 
Entered Captain William Scott's company of Colonel Joseph 
Cilley's regiment. By the return of Abiel Abbott, Mustering 
OflScer, for this enlistment, he is stated to be from Peter- 
borough. XIY, 612. Was paid a bounty of £20 and 8s lOd 
for travel. On a roll of men in First New Hampshire regi- 
ment enlisted for the war. XIY, 468. On a roll of Captain 
Moody Dustin's company, First New Hampshire regiment, 
dated February 13, 1781. Residence given Peterborough. 
XYI, 223. On list of Sharon men. XYI, 518. On a roll of 
the same company and regiment to equalize the pay of sol- 
diers on account of the depreciation of the currency for 
service prior to January 1, 1780, and was paid |177.60. XY, 
711. On a similar roll of Captain Scott's company for 
service in 1780, and was paid |80. XYI, 198. Enlisted 
February 15, 1777; discharged, December 31, 1781. On pay 
roll of same company and regiment for service in 1781, and 
was paid $80. XYI, 267. 

''April 28ht 1777. 
"Received of Capt. John Taggart Thirty pounds as a hire 
or bounty for engaging to serve in the Continental Army for 
three years in Captain William Scott's Compauy and Col. 
Joseph Cilley's Regiment. 

James Moor." 

—From Sharon Town Records. 



Personal and Military Sketches. 259 

"1782. Town of Sharon voted to give James Moore, 25 
bushels of rye for service done in the war. From Sharon 
Town Records. 

He was the James Moore enlisting into Captain Abijah 
Smith's company of Colonel Nahnm Baldwin's regiment. 
Mustered September 21, 1776. Paid a bounty of £6, and £1 
18s id for travel. Discharged the following December. 

XIV, 420. He enlisted as volunteer into the detachment 
that went with Arnold to Quebec. When on the march 
thither, at "the great carrying place," on the Kennebec 
River, in September, 1775, he sustained injuries, while un- 
loading freight, by a barrel of flour falling upon his right 
leg which disabled him and he was sent home and dis- 
charged February 14, 1776. A roll of his enlistment in 
Colonel Cilely's regiment, for August, September and Oc- 
tober, 1780, shows him sick in the hospital at Proberson's 
Farm. His last appearance on the roll is February 13, 1780. 
His abode on the rolls is sometimes given Mason, N. H. He 
was pensioned by Congress in 1794. 

(There were several by this name in service during the 
war. One in Captain John Moore's company. Colonel 
Stark's regiment, in 1775. XIV, 59. Served in the 
artillery. XIV, 156, 157. Another in Captain Daniel 
Moore's company, same regiment, at same time. XIV, 
70, 179. Another in Captain George Reid's company, 
same regiment at same time. XIV, 75. Also one in 
Captain Joshua Abbott's company, same regiment, in 

1776. XIV, 304, 305. A James Moore was in Captain 
Runnells's company of Colonel Nichols's regiment, in 1777. 

XV, 200, serving for Mason. 613. Also in Colonel Grid- 
ley's regiment in 1775, serving for Merrimack. XV, 751. 
Mass. Rolls. X, 922, 940. Also see XV, 754. Also a James 
Moore from Bow in 1782. XVI, 499, who enlisted July 1, 
1782, and paid a bounty of £20; company and regiment not 
given. XVI, 286. One of same name in John Duncan's 
company, Lieutenant-Colonel Kelley's regiment, five days, in 

1777. XV, 115. Another was in Captain Marston's com- 



260 Pcterhorough in the Revolution. 

pany, Colonel Senter's regiment, in 1777. Served in Rhode 
Island. XV, 267, 269, 212) . 

(A James Moore enlisted for three years or dur- 
ing the war, May 23, 1781, into Colonel Alexander Scani- 
mel's regiment, and was paid a bounty of £20, to be paid 
equal to Indian corn at 4s per bushel, and with interest 
from the date of muster. XVI, 238. Discharged at the 
close of the war. He is accredited to Peterborough for this 
enlistment. See Kidder's History, First New Hampshire 
Regiment, but is claimed by Francestown. XVI, 506) . 

There was a James Moore in Captain Nesmith's company 
of Colonel Wingate's regiment in 177G. XIV, 3^8. The 
identity of these men has not been certainly traced. 



John Moore (or Moor). History of Peterborough says 
he answered the Lexington Alarm, April 19, 1775, but his 
name is not found on any printed roll of New Hampshire or 
Massachusetts for such service. The Peterborough man of 
that name was a son of Margaret Morison and Samuel 
Moore, and was born November 5, 1753. Married 
Margaret Stuart. He was a member of Cai)tain Alexander 
Robbe's company of militia in 177G, and a resident of the 
town in 1790. Died in Cambridge, Vt, July 7, 1800, aged 
46 years. 

There were several of the name in the army. John Moore, 
of Derryfield, was Captain in John Stark's regiment in 
1775. Commissioned Captain, April 24th. XIV, 51, 59, 153, 
156; promoted Major, June 18, 1775. XIV, Jf8; XVI, 133. 
John Moore, of Deerfield, "afterward of Pembroke," was 
Second Lieutenant (commissioned May 1st) in Captain 
Daniel Moore's company of Colonel Stark's regiment, in 
1775. XIV, 10; same man First Lieutenant in Captain 
Ebenezer Frye's company of Colonel Joseph Cilley's regi- 
ment in 1776. Commissioned November 7th. XIV, 552, 
605; XV, 110; XVI, 3; XVII, 266. 

John Moore, of Bow, was a private in Captain James 
Osgood's company of rangers, Colonel Bedel's regiment, in 



Personal and Military sketches. 261 

1775-76. XIV, 161, 169, 274. Same man in Captain Benja- 
min Sias's company of Colonel Moses Nichols's regiment, 
service 26 days, in 1778, in Rhode Island. XV, 513,; XVI, 
579 ; was also private in Captain Daniel Reynolds's company 
of Colonel Mooney's regiment for six months in 1779; ser- 
vice in Rhode Island. XV, 622, 663, 669; XVI, 786. Served 
for Pembroke. XV, 669, 677, 689. 

John Moore, of Kittery, was private in Captain Ebenezer 
Deering's company for the defence of Portsmouth Harbor in 

1776. XIV, 260; XVII, 46. 

John Moore, residence unknown, was a private in Cap- 
tain Joshua Abbott's company of Colonel John Stark's regi- 
ment in 1776. XIV, 305. 

John Moore, residence unknown, was a private in Captain 
Stephen Dearborn's company of Colonel Thomas Stickney's 
regiment in the Saratoga Campaign of 1777 ; died August 21, 

1777. XV, 170. 

Another John Moore was a private in Captain Samuel 
McConnell's company of Colonel Stickney's regiment, same 
year. Enlisted July 19th; discharged, September 18, 1777. 

XV, 175. Possibly he was the same man in Captain Joseph 
Findlay's company of volunteers. Enlisted October 1st; 
discharged, November 4, 1777. XV, 394, 428. 

John Moore, of Chester, serving for Raymond, was a pri- 
vate in Captain Amos Morrill's (Second) company of 
Colonel Joseph Cilley's regiment in 1779. Date of enlist' 
ment and discharge not given. XIV, 469; XV, 635, 639; 

XVI, 199, 518, 807, 808. 

A John Moore, of Candia, or enlisted for Candia, into the 
Continental Army, July 5, 1782. XVI, 286, 500. 

There was also a John Moore, private in Captain Mc- 
Laughlin's company in 1777. Discharged, July 3d. Ser- 
vice, four days. XV, 111; and another in Captain Duncan's 
company, Lieutenant-Colonel Kelley's regiment in the same 
year; discharged, July 4th. Service, four days. XV, 116. 
There was also a John Moore, a private in Captain James 
Gilmore's company of Colonel Jacob Gale's regiment, in 

1778. Service in Rhode Island, for 25 days. XV, 566, 



262 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

The service of none of these men is accredited to Peter- 
borough on any military roll. It is possible, however, that 
some of the enlistments may have been by the Peterborough 
John Moore. 



Samuel Moore^ Jr. Son of Samuel Moore, before 
named, who came to Peterborough in 1751 or '52. Born in 
Peterborough, June 10, 1750. Married Jenny Thompson, 
daughter of Deacon Robert Thompson, in Londonderry, July 
21, 1784; died in Peterborough, February 5, 1811, aged 87 
years. 

Private in Captain William Scott's company which 
answered the Lexington Alarm, April 19, 1775. Discharged 
April 23d; service, three days. Enlisted into Captain John 
Moore's company- of Colonel John Stark's regiment, April 
24, 1775 ; discharged June 7th ; service, one month, 17 days. 
Wages, 40 shillings per month. Total pay and travel £5 4s 
Id. XIV, 59. Private in Captain Alexander Robbe's com- 
pany which answered the Ticonderoga Alarm in 1777. Name 
given on rolls as ^'Samuel Morse." Enlisted June 29, 1777, 
discharged July 3d; service, five days. Total pay and travel, 
£1 15s lOd. XV, 101. He answered the Lexington Alarm, 
which explains his enlistment at Cambridge, April 24, 1775. 
But there is no record of the fact. 

(There was a Samuel Moore of Candia in Colonel 
Laommi Baldwin's (Mass.) regiment in 1775. XV, 748. A 
Samuel Moore, surgeon's mate, in Colonel Wingate's regi- 
ment in 1776. XIV, 339. Possibly from Pembroke. XVII, 
69. Also a Samuel Moore, private in Captain Stephen Dear- 
born's company. Colonel Thomas Stickney's regiment, 
from July 17 to September 28, 1777. XV, 169. A ''Cap- 
tain" Samuel Moore, Quartermaster in Colonel Daniel 
Moore's regiment, from September 29 to October 25, 1777. 
XV, 345. A Samuel Moore was in Captain John Duncan's 
company of Colonel Kelly's regiment from July 1 to July 4, 
1777. XV, 116, and in same Captain Duncan's company. 
Colonel Moore's regiment, from September 29 to October 25, 



Personal and Military Sketches. 263 

1777. XV, 362. There was also a Samuel Moore, from 
Candia, in Captain Thomas Coggswell's company, Colonel 
Baldwin's regiment in 1775. XV, 748, and another from 
Chester. XV, 749.) 



William Moore. Probably the son of Samuel Moore, 
see ante, ^'Samuel Moore, Jr." and was born in Peter- 
borough about 1755. He removed to Frankfort, Maine, after 
the Revolution, where he died. Date unknown. The 
records of the town were burned a few years ago. 

Enlisted into Captain Stephen Parker's company of 
Colonel Moses Nichols's regiment, which marched from New 
Ipswich in 1777, and joined the army of General Gates at 
Stillwater, July 19, 1777. Discharged September 26th. 
Service, two months, eight days. Wages, £4 10s per month. 
Total pay and travel, £12 Is 6d. XV, 221. 

(There were several other William Moores in service, — 
In Captain Samuel McConnell's company of General Stark's 
brigade, in 1777. XV, 175. In Captain Joseph Findlay's 
company of volunteers, same year. XV, 394- In Colonel 
Nathan Hale's regiment, from Chester, 1777. XVI, 65, 76, 
105, 106; XV, 583; XVII, 383; XV, 442. In Captain 
Aiken's company of Colonel Kelly's regiment, in Rhode 
Island in 1778. XV, 557; at the defence of Portsmouth 
Harbor in 1779. XV, 698. Sergeant in Third Company of 
Colonel George Reid's regiment, Second New Hampshire 
Continental Line, prior to 1780. XV, 720; XVI, 204; XVII, 
383; and see Vol. XVI, 112, 128, I4I, 161, 252, 311, 312, 
520,628. (This man from Stratham). Also Vol. XIV, 75, 
160, 161, 164, S12, 321, 355, 4IO, 411- Whether the William 
Moore serving in Colonel Nichols's regiment should be ac- 
credited with any of these other enlistments cannot be 
affirmed.) 

(A William Moore was in Colonel Thomas Stickney's 
regiment from July 5 to July 12, 1777, XV, 128; in Captain 
Benjamin Sias's company, Colonel Stickney's regiment, from 
July 19 to September 26, 1777. XV, 180 ; and in Captain 



264 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

Joseph Findlay's company in 1777. XV, 394, 429; a Samuel 
Moore in Captain Daniel Reynolds's company, Colonel 
Stephen Peabody's regiment, from February 15 to January 
4, 1779. XV, 464, 406, -^77, 505. A recruit in Captain James 
Aiken's company, from Chester, in 1780. XVI, 96, 112; also 
in 1781. XVI, 262; XVII, 426, 428. In Captain Leavitt's 
company. Colonel Thomas Bartlett's regiment, in 1780. 
XVI, 162.) 



Rev. John Morrison. The first settled minister of the 
town. Born in Pathfoot, Scotland, May 22, 1743. Grad- 
uated at the University of Edinburg in 1765, and came to 
Peterborough the next year. Ordained at Peterborough in 
17GG, and was dismissed in 1772. History of Peterborough, 
Genealogies, page 204- He went to South Carolina, but re- 
turned and joined the American Army at Cambridge in 1775. 
He enlisted, April 23, 1775, into Captain William Scott's 
company, of Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment, and 
served until June 17th following. He excused himself from 
going into the battle of Bunker Hill, on the ground that his 
gun was not in condition to use, and was not in the engage- 
ment. The day after the fight he deserted to the enemy. 
He espoused the cause of England with all the zeal of a new 
convert. He probably remained in Boston until it was 
evacuated by the British in March, 1776. 

Sabine, in his American Loyalists (Vol. II, page 108) 
says of him : '*In 1775 he received a call to the elegant new 
church on Brattle St. (Boston), vacated by the flight of Dr. 
Cooper. His first sermon 'was excellent and delivered to a 
genteel audience,' and he designed to show the fatal conse- 
quences of sowing sedition and conspiracy among parish- 
ioners, which this pulpit has been most wickedly practising 
ever since the corner stone was laid." But in a diary kei)t 
by one Peter Edes, a prisoner in the Boston Gaol in the fall 
of 1775, under date of September 17th, is the following 
entry : 



Personal and Military Sketches. 265 

"In the forenoon went to hear Mr. Morrison preach in 
Dr. Cooper's Meeting House. He was formerly a minister 
at Peterboro', and was obliged to quit his people on account 
of his scandalous behaviour. He was in our Army at Bun- 
ker Hill fight, and deserted about 13 weeks ago. His ha- 
rangue or Tory sermon reflected greatly on the ministers of 
the town as the pi'eachers of sedition, and on the people, 
saying they were ungrateful in being destroyers and mur- 
derers of those very people who protected them from the 
French and Indians of Canada. Many Tories attended who 
affected to grin, but it was, as Milton expresses it — 'hor- 
ribly with a ghastly smile !' " iV". E. Hist. Genealogical 
Register, Vol. XIX, page 262. 

November 11, 1778, the Legislature passed an Act banish- 
ing him, with some seventy-two others, including Governor 
Wentworth and Major Robert Rogers, from the State, and 
ordering their arrest should they return. VIII, 810. 

Before the war broke out, he became involved in litiga- 
tion, and suits were brought against him by John Mitchell, 
of Charlestown, South Carolina, and Isaac Mitchell, of 
Peterborough, in the State courts, which, on account of his 
absence, remained pending until the close of the war, when 
forty-three citizens of the town, under date of May 14, 1783, 
petitioned the Legislature that "it would grant a fair and 
Judicious Trial, in an old Action that has long been precided 
between them and John Morison," saying that "By the latest 
Account we had of him, was a Captain of the British Forage 
in South Carolina." 

On the same day the Selectmen of the town — Alexander 
Robbe and Thomas Stuart — sent the following petition to 
the same General Court : 

"We, the subscribers. Petition your Honours would take 
notice of John morrison Who was formerly a Minister in the 
Town of Peterborough in this State AVho in the year 1775 
Enlisted in the American Service as a Common Soldier And 
Deserted from there to the British army Where we was 
Enform^ that he Did us much harm, and he was Returnd 
Only as an absentee and not as an Enemy and we Your 
Humble Petitioners Begs that Your Honours Would Con- 



266 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

aider him as an Enemy and have him Keturnd According to 
Law — and that his Estate may Be converted to the Same 
Use as the Rest of our Enemies have Been. 

And We your Petitioners Begs that Your Honours Would 
Grant A fair and Judicious trial between John Mitchell 
Esq. of Charlestown South Carolina and Mr. Isaac Mitchell 
of Peterborough in this State in an old Action that has 
Long Persided Between them and the aforesaid John Morri- 
son >Mio By the account we have of him is now in the 
British Service and in So Doing Your Petitioners Shall as in 
Duty Bound Ever Pray — " 

"Dated at Peterborough in the State of New Hampshire 
May the 14tli, 1783. 

Alexander Robbe 
Tho Steuart 

Selectmen." 

XIII, 184 and 185. 

The charges, some fifteen in number, preferred against 
him by members of his parish in 1771, reveal the depravity of 
his character, and the findings thereon by the Presbytery 
show the curious standards of conduct in a minister then 
prevailing. 

"Extracts from the Minutes of Rev^ Presbyt of Boston, 
met at 'Petersburgh,' June 18th, 1771." It is taken from 
Vol. XIII, of State Papers, page 118. 

"Committee Members present. — 

"Ministers — Messrs David McGregore, John Houston, J. 
Williams. Elders — Messrs Saml Fisher — D. Moore — Saml 
Morrison. 

"Thursdy June 20tli. Met According to adjournement. 

"Memb^s as above — opened with Prayer. 

"The Committee proceeded respecting the Articles of 
Charge & after a Solemn & Serious Examination of the 
Evidence to give their judgment as followeth : 

"1 Charge Intemperance — At Stephen Hollands Esqr 
Unanimously agreed that Mr Morrison is proved guilty of 
this Charge. 

"2 Charge Intemperance at John Taggarts of Peters- 
burg unanimously agreed though this Article is not so highly 
aggravated as the first Charge yet the Committee find him 
guilty of Intemperance. 



Personal and Military Sketches. ^67 

"3d Charge Profane swearing the Committee are 
unanimously agreed that this Charge is also sufficiently 
proved. 

"4 Charge Profane swearing In this Charge a Single 
Evidence appeared and for the Reasons offered the Com- 
mittee saw fit to indulge the Evidence not to swear, 

"5 Charge Buying a poor mans vote. Tho there was 
some inexpediency yet nothing unlawful and consequently 
nothing censurable. 

"6tli Charge Immodest Conversation and Deportment. 

"1st Article respecting Agnes Mitchell not proved. 

"2 Instance of immodest Deportment at John Tag- 
gart's July 1770 evident by his own confession. 

"3<3 Article of Immodest Behaviour in respect of 
Elizabeth Miller her testimony being Single It is the Judg- 
ment of the Committee the two last instances would amount 
to a full proof of the Charge, but as they are Supported only 
by one witness the Evidence comes short of Judicial proof. 

"4th Upon the fourth Article of Charge the Evidence to 
witt Stone & Wilson being sworn declared nothing that 
amounted to the shadow of a proof — 

"5 That Supposing Mr. Morrison told the Story as the 
Evidence upon oath declared the Committee are Unanimous 
that considering Circumstances it was unbecoming minis- 
terial gravity but as it is supported only by one Evidence 
not sufficiently proved. 

"6 Upon this Article from the Character of William 
Gilchrest as well as from his Evidence being wholly un- 
supported by any Corroborating Circumstances the Com- 
mittee are Unanimous that they can give very little Weight 
to his Testimony. 

"7 Upon the seventh Article the Committee thought 
proper to sett aside the only Evidence that was produced. 

"8 Upon the eighth Article the Committee are Unani- 
mous that the evidences viz John Mitchell and his Wife 
being sworn declared nothing to support the Charge. 

"9 Unanimously agreed that this Article if made evi- 
dent is an instance of immodesty but is not juridically 
proved. 

"lOth Article supported by no Evidence. 

"llth Article supported by no evidence — 

"12tii Article supported by no evidence. 

"13tti & 14tii Articles supported by no Evidence — John 
Dicks not appearing. 



268 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

"15**^ Article respecting immodest Conversation & De- 
portment the Committee unanimously find him guilty — 

<'7th Charge. Baptizing a Child Contrary to our Con- 
stitution— 

"With regard to Baptizing the Child this Committee 
think that there is nothing to support the s^ Charge — 

"Upon the whole it is the Committees Judgment that 
in a Number of Articles tho not supported by such Proof 
as the Gospel requires yet some of them are attended with 
such Circumstances as render the facts very suspicious — 
they would therefore in the bowels of Christ earnestly in- 
treat the Rev<i Mr Morrison by every Consideration that is 
weighty with impartial strictness to animadvert on his 
Conduct not only in the instances that have been juridically 
proved but also in those suspected instances <& so far as he is 
conscious of Guilt, to endeavour to humble himself in the 
dust before a Heart searching & holy God & to fly speedily to 
the Blood & righteousness of Jesus Christ for pardon & 
cleansing — ■ 

"And with respect to the agrieved the Committee would 
be free to advise them with like Earnestness as it is a very 
critical Time in Peterburgh to take heed to their spirits & 
while they are justly offended at their Ministers Crimes 
to beware of a spirit of Bitterness or personal hatred — 

"The Presbytery further unanimously Voted on a Com- 
plex View of the whole case that Mr Morrison be suspended 
for Ten Sabbaths from his Ministerial Work or from all 
acts of Office that He appear at the End of the s^ Ten Sab- 
baths before the Presby the time & place of the meeting of 
which is to be duly notify'd to Him & likewise to the People 
that both he & the People by Commissioners it is expected 
shall appear before s<i session of the I*resby who will then 
proceed with Mr Morrison reproving him or otherwise as 
matters shall then appear to them — Further that this Com- 
mittee shall use their best endeavours with the next session 
of their Presby to meet at Oakham the week after next that 
the Pulpit of Petersburgh be supplied as much as they 
possibly can during the time of this suspension without au}^ 
additional Charge to the s<i People — 

Simon Williams Presby Clerk — '■. 

A true Copy. 

In August, 1771, the Presbytery took the following action 
upon the charges : 



Personal and Military Sketches. 269 

"Voted — that Mr, Morrison be restored to full standing 
with the Presby. 

''Voted — that Mr, Morrison be restored to the exercise of 
his Ministry in Petersburgh, 

"Voted — Unanimously — that the Kevd Mr. McGregore be 
appointed to write a Letter to the People of Petersburgh, 
suited to their Particular Circumstances & in particular 
recommending to them a punctual attendance on the stated 
Administration in their own Parish. 

S, Williams, Presbt Clerk. 

dated August 29th, 1771," 

Evidently the Presbytery found that the people had been 
remiss in some of their duties to the church and its minister, 
though its final action seems strange in view of its findings 
on the charges. But the people were dissatisfied with the 
verdict and did not suffer the matter to drop. On December 
19th of the same year (1771) General John Sullivan, acting 
for those seeking Mr. Morrison's removal, addressed a 
memorial to the Governor and Council, setting forth the 
charges against Mr. Morrison, also the findings of the Pres- 
bytery and their action thereon, and asking for a hearing. 
XIII, 116. The outcome of this petition does not appear, 
and the following March (1772) Mr. Morrison resigned. 

He married Sarah Ferguson of Peterborough, sister of 
Henry Ferguson, January 8, 1767. He never returned to 
Peterborough after his desertion to the British, but did not 
lose sight or thought of his family, who were left in destitute 
condition. In 1776 he sent word to his wife that if some one 
would come to New York to a place designated he would 
send her some money. His brother-in-law, Henry Ferguson, 
went to New York in reply to this message, and Mr. Morrison 
gave him quite a large amount of money, estimated by some 
to be |300 or |400. In was while Mr. Ferguson was absent 
on this errand that the Association Test was signed, on which 
Mr. Ferguson's name does not appear. This led the people 
to doubt his loyalty and the matter was investigated by a 
committee, but the charge was proven wholly unfounded, and 
Mr, Ferguson exonerated. Mr, Morrison died at Charles- 



270 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

town, S. C, May 2G or 27, 1782, while a commissary in the 
Britisli service, aged 39 years. Hist. Peterhorough, Genealo- 
gies, page 204- 



John Morison. Eldest son of Captain Thomas and 
Mary (Smith) Morison, and was born in Londonderry, July 
8, 1740. Probably came to Peterborough with his parents 
in 1749. He was thrice married : First to Agnes Hogg, who 
died April 27, 1777, aged 27 years ; second to Lydia Mason ; 
and his third wife was Jennie Gray. He died in Peter- 
borough, May 25, 1818, aged 78 years. 

There were five or six of the name in the Army, and it is 
impossible to identify the military record of one from the 
other correctly in all cases. The Peterborough John Mori- 
son enlisted into Captain George Reid's company of Colonel 
John Stark's regiment, April 23, 1775 ; discharged, December 
31st. Term, eight months, seven days. XIV, 74. Re- 
ceipted for |4 in lieu of bounty coat, October 4th. XIV, 
178. On muster roll of August 1st. XIV, 74- Entered 
Captain Alexander Robbe's company which answered the 
Ticonderoga Alarm in 1777. Enlisted June 29, 1777; dis- 
charged, July 3d. Service, five days, and was paid £1 15s 
\M, wages and travel. XV , 101. July 19th of the same 
year he enlisted into Captain Samuel McOonnell's company 
of Colonel Thomas Sticlvuey's regiment, which marched 
from Pembroke, N. H., and took part in the battle of 
Bennington. Discharged, September 2Gth. Service, two 
months, eight days. Was paid wages and travel, £12 9s 
lOd XV, 176. 

He also enlisted into Captain Samuel Cunningham's 
company of Colonel Enoch Hale's regiment for service in 
Rhode Island in 1778. Enlisted August lOth; discharged, 
August 28, 1778. Service, 21 days. Wages, £5 per 
month. Total pay and travel, £11 2s. XV, 538. 

(A John Morrison from Londonderry was a private in 
Captain James Perry's company. Colonel Paul Dudley Sar- 



Personal and Military Sketches. 271 

gent's regiment. Enlisted July 2, 1775. On pay roll of 
August 12tli; order for bounty coat, November lltb; dis- 
charged, December 31, 1775. Service, five months, 30 days. 
Mass. Rolls, 11, 44 c^'i^d 70; XV, 740. Same man, probably, 
in Captain Daniel Runnells's (Reynolds) company of 
Colonel Thomas Tash's regiment in 1776, for service in New 
York. Mustered September 26th; discharged, Decmber 1, 
1776. Service, about three months. XIV, 411- There 
was a John Morrison from Londonderry in Captain James 
Carr's company of Colonel George Reid's regiment for three 
years XV, 455. His name does not otherwise appear in 
any printed roll of the company or regiment. Probably the 
same man in Captain Perry's company). 

(A John Morrison, of Candia, was a private in Captain 
Hezekiah Hutchins's company of Colonel James Reed's regi- 
ment in 1775. Enlisted May 6, 1775; discharged, December 
31, 1775. Service, seven months, 24 days. This man was 
19 years of age. XIV, 76 and 82. Receipted for four dol- 
lars in lieu of bounty coat, October 16, 1775. XIV, 198. 

Possibly the same man enlisted into Captain Joseph 
Dearborn's company of Colonel Isaac Wyman's regiment for 
service on the Northern Frontier in 1776. Paid a bounty 
of £6, one month's wages £3 18s, and travel 6s Sd, in advance. 
Total, £10 4s Sd. XIV, 327). 

(A John Morrison, of Sanborn ton, was a private in Captain 
James Gray's company of Colonel Alexander Scammell's 
regiment, April 26, 1777, for three years. Paid a bounty of 
£20. XIV, 580, 659; XV, 44^^ 599. Was paid for service 
prior to January 1, 1780, on account of the depreciation of 
the currency, |177.44 XV, 727. See XVI, 10, 43, and on 
similar roll for service in 1780, |26.60. XVI, 208. Pro- 
moted fifer. XVI, 208; discharged, April 26, 1780. XVI, 
183). 

By a return dated November 5, 1775, there was a John 
Morrison in Captain Samuel Mclntyre's company at Kittery 
Point, date of enlistment and discharge not given. Resi- 
dence, unknown. The regiment was under the command of 



272 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

Colonel Joshua Wiugate. Its enlistment was ordered 
September 1, 1775, and the men were to serve four months. 
XIV, 238. There was also a John Morrison, possibly the 
same man, in Captain Titus Salter's company at Fort 
Washington, near Portsmouth, in May and September, 1777. 

XIV, 550; XV, .',30. (This man from Salisbury). Also a 
man, town uncertain, was a private in Captain Ezekiel 
Worthen's company, Colonel Stephen Peabody's regiment, 
serving in Rhode Island in 1778. Enlisted April 20, 1778; 
discharged, October 13. Term, five months 23 days. 
Wages, £5 10s per month. Total pay and travel. £38 5.9. 

XV, 1ft 1,, J,9.'t. The town of Stoddard claimed remuneration 
for a bounty paid John Morrison serving in the Continental 
Army, engaged in June, 1778. XVI, 8.)0. He may have 
been the man in Captain Worthen's company' but it is un- 
certain. Enlisted June 28, 1780; discharged, December 13, 
1780. Town went for, Stoddard. XVI, 82, 92. His age 
is given on the latter rolls as 18 years) . 



Robert Morison. Was the son of Thomas and Mary 
(Smith) Morison, and was born in Lunenburg, Mass., No- 
vember 29, 1744. He came to Peterborough with his 
parents in 1749, and lived there until his death, February 
13, 1826, at the age of 82 years. He married Elizabeth 
Holmes, sister of Deacon Nathaniel Holmes, who died in 
1808, aged 55 years. He was Elder in the Presbyterian 
Church; and in 1790, on ordination of Rev. Elijah Dunbar, 
was chosen Deacon, holding the office many years. In 1774 
he was elected Selectman, filling besides this many minor 
town offices in succeeding years. He was an active church- 
man, and labored earnestly for the prosperity of his church 
through his whole active life, and had the confidence and 
respect of his fellow citizens to the end of his days. 

Perhaps he was the man who answered the Lexington 
Alarm, April 19, 1775. April 23, 1775, at Cambridge, Mass.. 
he enlisted into Captain Henry Dearborn's company of 
Colonel John Stark's regiment, and was discharged Decern- 



Personal and Military Sketches. 273 

ber 31, 1775. Term, eight months and seven days. Was on 
the pay roll of the company dated August 1, 1775, and was 
paid £9 5s lOd for wages and travel due at that date. XIV, 
69. October 16(?), 1775, receipted for four dollars in full 
for bounty coat promised by the State of New Hampshire. 
XIV, 180. He is on the muster and pay roll of Captain 
Daniel Runnells's (Reynolds) company of Colonel Thomas 
Tash's regiment, dated September 26, 1776, and was paid a 
bounty of £6, and £2 8s for billeting. XIV, Ifl2. Enlistment 
(about) September 15, 1776, and was discharged December 
1st. Service, two and one-half months. The regiment was 
raised to reinforce the army in New York. The wages of 
the soldiers under this enlistment were the same as those 
of the Continental Army. July 20, 1777, he enlisted into 
Captain Daniel Runnells's (Reynolds) company of Colonel 
Moses Nichols's regiment; discharged, September 28, 1777. 
Service, two months, nine days. Wages, £4 10s per month. 
Total pay and travel, £13 2s IM. XV, 200. The regiment 
was in the battle of Bennington and joined the army at 
Stillwater. There has been no record found of his services 
at the "Walpole Alarm," in 1777. 

(Besides the Robert Morison of Peterborough, there was 
a Robert Morison in Londonderry, born 1747. Another in 
Windham, born in 1758, and still another in Nottingham, 
born in 1752. The Robert Morison of Londonderry may 
have been the one serving in Captain Dearborn's or Captain 
Parsons's company in 1775. See XVII, 26, and is probably 
the man enlisting into Captain Porter Kimball's company of 
Colonel Stephen Evans's regiment, September 15, 1777, and 
discharged December 15th. Term, three months, one day, 
and was paid and allowed £18 6s Qd. XV, 291. A Robert 
Morison, not identified, was in Colonel Nicholas Oilman's 
regiment in 1777. XV, 285. There was also a Robert Mori- 
son in Captain Joseph Parsons's company, Colonel Joshua 
Wingate's regiment, at Oreat Island, in Piscataqua Harbor, 
for four months in 1775. XIV, 224; XVII, 26). 
19 



274 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

The Robert Morison of Peterborough was, without doubt, 
the man in Colonel Tash's regiment in 1776, and in Colonel 
Nichols's regiment in 1777. There is room for question 
about his serving under Captain Dearborn in 1775. 



Samuel Morrison. He was the son of Abraham Morri 
son, who went to Stoddard in 1770 or before. Born in 1761 
probably in Londonderry. Married Susannah Robbe 
daughter of Alexander Robbe, born December 4, 1765 
on July 15, 1793. He died in Peterborough, October 22 
1842, aged 81 years. He resided at one time in Stoddard 
going there in 1769, but subsequently, after 1800, returned 
to Peterborough, where he lived until his death. 

Samuel Morrison enlisted into Captain William Scott's 
company. Colonel Stark's regiment, in 1776,for three years, or 
the war. XIV, 408. One of the men returned for Stoddard 
by Colonel Enoch Hale under an order from the Committee 
of Safety, dated April, 1777, directing him to raise out of his 
regiment of militia 119 men for the Continental Army. In 
Captain William Scott's company of Colonel Joseph Cilley's 
regiment. XIV, 515. On a return of men in Captain Gil- 
man's company, First New Hampshire Regiment, in 1781. 
XVI, 221. Paid on account of depreciation of the currency 
for service prior to January 1, 1780, |182.60. XV, 711. 
Paid on depreciation roll for service in same company and 
regiment in 1780, |80. XVI, 198. On return of Jeremiah 
Gilman's company, the same regiment, in 1781. XVI, 221. 
Receipted for gratuity of |15 from State of New Hampshire, 
May 10, 1781. XVI, 21,1. On roll of First Company of 
Colonel Cilley's regiment in 1781, and was paid $80. XVI, 
267. On roll of men claimed by Stoddard. XVI, 520. Paid 
a bounty of £30 by Stoddard for service in the Continental 
Army. XVI, 8^0, 841. Enlisted January 1, 1777; dis- 
charged, December, 1781. XIII, 455. In his pension appli- 
cation he says he was discharged at the end of the war. 

He states in his application : 



Personal and Military Sketches. 275 

"I enlested into the Continental Line of the Army of the 
Revolution, for and during the war, and continued in the 
Service until its termination, at which period I was a Pri- 
vate in Capt. Josiah Munroe's Company, in the 1st Regiment 
N. H. Line. I also declare that I afterward received a Cer- 
tificate for the reward of |S0 to which I was entitled under 
the Resolve of Congress, passed May 15, 1778. And I fur- 
ther declare that I was not, on May 15, 1828, on the Pension 
List of the United States. Nor was I ever on said List. 

(Signed) Samuel Morrison." 

This application was filed August 25, 1828, and was 
allowed at the rate of |8 per month, which continued till his 
death. 

After his decease his widow asked for a pension, which 
was rejected on the ground that she could not produce a 
town or church record of her marriage. Among other affi- 
davits filed, relating to this point, was one by Daniel Robbe, 
of Milton, Saratoga County, New York, who says : 

"That Susa Robbe is his sister and was married to 
Samuel Morrison in July, 1793. He was not present at the 
marriage, but knew they started from his iather's house in 
the morning with the intention of being married, and on 
their return in the evening said they were married. That 
they lived as Man and Wife until the death of Samuel Morri- 
son. Remember Sister Susa was married the year I was 18. 
Assisted in removing Sister's household goods to Stoddard, 
20 miles distant from my Fathers and on that occasion staid 
over night at Jonathan Felt's in Nelson and who had a son 
about my age, and the subject of age was talked of, and I 
remember I was 18 the April previous. 

(Signed) Dan Robbe." 

Daniel Robbe was born April 29, 1775. 
i 

(Samuel Morrison, Londonderry. Sergeant in Captain 

Jesse Wilson's company of Colonel Moses Nichols's regi- 
ment in 1777. Enlisted July 21 ; discharged, September 22, 
1777. Term, two months, two days. Was paid wages and 
travel, £12 13s M. XV, 228. Private in Captain James 
Aiken's company of Colonel Moses Kelly's regiment in 1778. 
Service in Rhode Island. Enlisted, August 7; discharged, 



276 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

August 27th ; service, 23 days. Allowed two days for travel. 
Paid in wages and travel, £11 8s M. XV, 557. 

A Samuel Morrison of Rye, N. H., enlisted under Na- 
thaniel Reed, March 4, 1776. XIII, 36Jf. See also XIII, 
367-70; same man in Captain Deering's company, Colonel 
Long's regiment, April, 1776. XIV, 260, J,84, Ji99, 512.) 



Thomas Morison. Was the fourth son and sixth child 
of Captain Thomas and Mary (Smith) Morison, and 
brother of Robert Morison, the preceding. Born in Peter- 
borough, April 20, 1751. 

Enlisted at Cambridge, Mass., May 18, 1775, into Captain 
Ezra Towne's company of Colonel James Reed's regiment. 
Discharged, December 31st. Term, seven months, 13 days. 
Wages, 40s per month. On pay roll of August 1st, and was 
paid wages and travel to that date, £7 9s. XIV, 91. October 
12th, he receipted for four dollars in lieu of bounty coat 
promised by the State of New Hampshire. XIV, 201. De- 
scriptive list, endorsed August 4, 1775 : Captain Ezra 
Towne's company of Colonel James Reed's regiment; pri- 
vate; age, 22 years; stature, five feet, seven inches; com- 
plexion, brown; eyes, light; occupation, farmer; 
birthplace, Peterborough; residence, Peterborough; en- 
listed May 18, 1775; mustered July 11, 1775. Mass. 
Rolls, Vol. XI, page Jf9. He was mustered into 
Captain Abijah Smith's company of Colonel Nahum Bald- 
win's regiment September 21, 1776, and was discharged 
about the fifth of the following December. This regiment 
was raised to reinforce the army in New York, and was in 
the battle of White Plains, October 28, 1776. Was paid a 
bounty of £6 and £1 18s ^d for travel at the date of muster. 
Service about three months. XIV, 1^21. Private in Captain 
Alexander Robbe's company which answered the Ticonde- 
roga Alarm in June, 1777. Enlisted June 29, 1777; dis- 
charged, July 3d. Service, five days. Total pay and travel, 
£1 15s lOd. XV, 101. A Corporal in Captain Stephen 



Personal and Military Sketches. 277 

Parker's company of Colonel Moses Nichols's regiment, 
which marched from New Ipswich for the Bennington and 
Saratoga Campaigns. Enlisted July 19, 1777; discharged, 
September 26th. Service, two months, eight days. Wages, 
£4 l-is per month. Total pay and travel, £12 10s Qd. XV, 
219. A private in Captain Edmund Briant's company of 
Colonel Daniel Moore's regiment which marched from New 
Ipswich in the autumn of 1777, to join General Gates at 
Saratoga. Enlisted September 28, 1777 ; discharged, October 
25th. Service, 28 days. Wages, £4 10s. Total pay and 
travel, £6 19s. XV, 356. He married Jerutia Field, and 
some time after the war removed to Buxton, Maine, where 
he died in 1796, by a fall from a bridge which he was cross- 
ing in a dark night. He was a carpenter by trade and built 
the Second bridge in Buxton, and also the one from which 
he stepped to his death. 

(A Thomas Morrison from Londonderry was a private in 
Captain Joseph Findlay's company of volunters in the 
Saratoga Campaign, 1777. Enlisted, October 1st; dis- 
charged, November 4, 1777. XV, 394. Receipted for 14s 
for billeting from Keene to Bennington, October 10, 1777. 
XV, 429). 



JosiAH MuNROE. Was born in Lexington, Mass., Febru- 
ary 12, 1745. Married Susannah Fitch, of Bedford, Mass., 
November 15, 1768. Settled in Amherst, N. H., in 1777. 
Removed to Marietta, Ohio, in 1788, and died there on a date 
unknown. 

A Sergeant in Captain William Scott's company which 
answered the Lexington Alarm, April 19, 1775. Service, 
three days. Enlisted, April 23, 1775, into Captain William 
Scott's company of Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment ; 
rank. Sergeant. On pay roll of same, August 1st, and on 
company return dated October 6th. Order for bounty coat, 
November 14, 1775. Mass. Rolls, Vol. X, page 881; N. H. 
State Papers, Vol. XV, 739. Commissioned Second Lieu- 



278 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

tenant in Captain Scott's company, of Colonel Joseph Cilley's 
regiment, April 8, 1776. XVI, 3. (Date given November 7, 
177G. XIV, 553). Appointed Quartermaster, August 23, 
1778. XVI, 3. See same, 51. Commissioned Captain, 
March 24, 1780. XVI, 180. See same, 182, and XVII, 266, 
440, 44-h where date of commission is July 5, 1780. 
For a return of his company in 1781, see XVI, 224. On de- 
preciation rolls for service in 1780; was paid |178. XVI, 
197. In service in 1781 as Captain, and was paid |480. 

XVI, 267. Was paid for loss of property at Ticouderoga in 
1777, £11 4s. XVI, 526. On depreciation rolls for service 
prior to January 1, 1780, and was paid |734.05. XV, 710. 
See also XIV, 553 and 613. Described as of Amherst. Date 
of leaving service not given. He was in service in 1782. 

XVII, 44S, 444^ 



John Murphy. His name is not on any town record, roll 
or paper. The History of Peterborough, page 154, says he 
served in 1776 to the credit of the town, and there is nothing 
more found to connect him with Peterborough. Date and 
place of birth and death unknown. 

Private, and mustered July 10, 1776, in Captain Samuel 
Nay's company, Colonel Joshua Wingate's regiment, raised 
in 1776, to reinforce the army on the Frontier. Paid a 
bounty of £6, one month's pay, £3 18s, and for billeting, 7s 
Qd. Total, £10 5s Gd. Length of service not stated on rolls 
XIV, 351. 

(A John Murphy was in Captain Henry Elkins's company at 
Pierce Island, Portsmouth Harbor, in November, 1775. XIV, 
230, 252; also a John Murphy from Hampton, probably tlie 
same man, enlisted into Captain Richard Weare's company 
of Colonel Alexander Scammel's regiment. May 7, 1777, for 
eight months. XIV, 642; XV, 422, where date of his enlist- 
ment is given as April 23, 1777 ; see also XV, 455 , term given 
as one year; reported killed October 7, 1777. XVI, 18). 



Personal and Military Sketches. 279 

Sargent Page (or Sargeant Paige). Was the son of 
Keuben and Mary (Sargent) Page, and was born in Haver- 
hill, Mass., December 10, 1748. It is not known where he 
lived before or during the Revolution. His name is not 
signed to the Association Test of any town in New Hamp- 
shire, and he was not a member of Captain Alexander 
Robbe's militia company. After the war he resided in Jaf- 
frey, N. H., where he was living in 1790. From Jaffrey he 
removed to Rindge, N. H., where he was taxed each year from 
1793 to (?). His name disappears from the records here, 
and date of death unknown. 

Private in Captain Joseph Parker's company, Colonel 
Isaac Wyman's regiment, raised out of Colonel Enoch Hale's 
regiment of militia, to reinforce the army at Ticonderoga 
in 1776. Paid a bounty of £6, one month's pay, £3 18s, and 
travel, four shillings. Mustered and paid by Enoch Hale, 
July 18, 1776. Discharged, December 1st. Service, four 
months 13 days. XIV, 333. Private in Captain Stephen 
Parker's company. Colonel Moses Nichols's regiment, which 
marched from New Ipswich to join the army at Bennington 
and Stillwater in 1777. Enlisted July 19, 1777; discharged, 
September 26th. Service, two months, eight days. Wages 
per month, £4 10s. Total pay and travel, £12 Is Qd 
XV, 221. 



Abel Parker. Was the son of John and Mary Parker, 
and was born in 1724. He came to Peterborough some time 
before the Revolution. Married Sarah Parker, and died in 
Peterborough, April 29, 1791, aged 67 years. In 1777 and 
1778 he held minor town ofiQces. Town Records, Vol. I, 
pages 54 and 55. 

He is on a ''descriptive list of men raised by the town of 
Ipswich, Mass., to serve in the Continental Army for nine 
months under a resolve of April 20, 1778, as returned by 
Colonel Jonathan Coggswell, July 4, 1778. Age, 48 years; 
stature, five feet, eight inches; complexion, light; eyes, dark; 
residence, Peterborough, N. H. On list of men raised by 



280 Peterhorough in the Revolution. 

Essex County, Mass., for a term of nine months. (Same en- 
listment as above). Arrived at Fisbkill, July 19, 1778. 
Mustered August 1st. Residence, Ipswich." Mass. Rolls, 
Vol. XV, pages 832-3. 



Abibl Parker. Was the son of Abel Parker, the preced- 
ing soldier. Birthplace probably Peterborough; date of 
birth, 17G0. After the war he went to Temple, N. H. See 
XIII, 563, where he married Lucy Ball, May 8, 1783. Date 
of death unknown. 

On a descriptive list of men raised by the town of Ips- 
wich, Mass., to serve in the Continental Army for nine 
months under a resolve passed April 20, 1778, as returned by 
Colonel Jonathan Coggswell, July 4, 1778. Age, 17 years; 
stature, five feet, two inches; complexion, fair; residence, 
Peterborough, N. H. On list of men raised by Essex County 
(Mass.), for nine months (same enlistment as above) ; 
arrived at Fishkill, July 19, 1778; mustered August 1st; 
iresidence, Ipswich, Mass. Mass. Rolls, Vol. XI, page 834- 
Enlisted into Captain Benjamin Spaulding's company of 
Colonel Moses Nichols's regiment, for service at West Point, 
July 7, 1780. Discharged, October 21st. Service, three 
months, 15 days. Paid wages, £469, for travel £130 Ids, 
subsistence and rations, £10 10s. Total, £G10 Gs. (Ratio 
was 67 to 1). XVI, 159. 



Ebenezbr Perkins. Was born in 1758; place of birth 
unknown. \Mien the war began he was living in Peter- 
borough, but how long he claimed the town as his residence 
is uncertain. In 1818 he was living in that part of old Dun- 
stable which is now Nashua, N. H. He probably died there, 
on July 26, 1824. 

Private in Captain Joseph Moore's company of Colonel 
William H. Prescott's regiment. Enlisted April 28, 1775 
On roll of October 6. Residence, Peterborough. XV, 7^5. 
On the Massachusetts rolls his residence is given Peter- 



Personal and Military Sketches. 281 

borough and Groton. Receipted for bounty coat, November 
17, 1775. See Mass. Rolls, Vol. XII, pages 439 and 850. 
Date of discharge was December 31, 1775. XV, 745. Be- 
fore discharge he re-enlisted into the same company and 
regiment, served one year and was discharged at Highlands, 
New York. No rolls showing this service exist. In Janu- 
ary, 1777, he enlisted for three years into Captain Baker's 
company of Colonel Bailey's (Mass.) regiment of the Conti- 
nental Line. But there are no rolls of this enlistment. He 
was in the battle of Bemis Heights, September 19, 1777. 
Soon after he was captured by the Tories while out on a 
scout, and carried to Montreal and Quebec, where he re- 
mained a prisoner more than two years. When released his 
regiment had been broken up, and he never rejoined the 
service. His application for pension contains many inter- 
esting facts about his army career. It is as follows : 

"A. D. 1775, soon after the Lexington Battle, I enlisted 
for the term of 8 months, in Capt. Moors Company, in tlie 
Eegiraent commanded by Col. Prescott, Mass. Line, which 
time I faithfully served out. 

"And immediately enlisted without returning home for 
a term of one year to begin the fore part of Jan'y A. D. 1776 
in s'd Moors Company, in Col. Prescott's Regiment, Mass. 
Line, which term of one year I faithfully served out and was 
honorably Discharged by my Officer. 

"But without quitting the Service being then in a place 
called Highlands, in New York, I enlisted for the term of 
three years or during the War into Capt. Baker's Company, 
Col. Bailey's Regiment, Mass. Line where I served untill a 
little before Burgoin surrendered and was in tlie 1st Battle 
at Saratoga N. Y. I was ordered out in a Corporal's guard 
and was taken by surprise by a Company of Tories and was 
pricked in the breast by one of them and should have been 
killed had not one of them struck off the bayonet there were 
six of us in the Guard and we were carried prisoners 
to Moreall and from there to Quebeck in Canady and was 
then removed to St. John's and the Isle of Nore where they 
put me to work and I soon after made my escape from there 
and when I came to Crown Point I was told that peace had 
taken place and I returned home and never after joined the 



282 Peterborough m the Revolution. 

army as I understood my Regiment had broken up. I never 
received any Discharge or pay having been a prisoner better 
than two years. 

''I further declare that I have nev^er been placed on the 
Pension List of Invalids and that I am in reduced circum- 
stances, and stand in need of assistance from my Country 
for support, not being the owner of any property and live 
by my labor and the Assistance of the Town of Dunstable 
aforesaid where I have been helped for the last three years. 
(Signed) Ebenezer (his mark) Perkins. 
Sworn, April 7th 1818." 
'^Schedule 
Estate — None. 

(Signed) Ebenezer (his mark) Perkins. 

''Wife, aged 50, able to do some work. One Daughter, 
maintained by the Town, she not being able to support her- 
self. 

(Signed) Ebenezer (his mark) Perkins. 

Schedule sworn to July 5th 1820 
Court of Hillsboro Co. 
The Selectmen of the Town of Dunstable — September 
2nd 1820, wrote the Pension OflSce a letter: declaring that 
they hold the original Pension Certificate of Ebenezer Per- 
kins, of Dunstable : — "That he has received the assistance of 
the town : — That he is incapable of taking care of property." 
''They petition that a Guardian may be appointed. 
"They appeal that no other Certificate be issued (if ap- 
plied for) in his favor, until the aforesaid application for 
Guardian is determined. If none be appointed, the Certifi- 
cate, now in their possession, will be delivered to him. 
"It is withheld for the benefit of said Perkins. 
(Signed) 

Stephen Bates 
Cummings Pollard 
Eleazer Ingalls 

Selectmen/' 
The claim was allowed, to date from April 14, 1818. 

(There was an Ebenezer Perkins in Captain Jonathan 
Wentworth's company of Colonel Enoch Poor's regiment in 
1775. Enlisted May 25th; discharged, December 31, 1775. 
XIV, 125. Receipted for bounty coat October 12, 1775. 
XIV, 188. This man was from Middleton, N.H. XVII, 11). 



Personal and Military SJcetches. 283 

James Porter, Was the son of Benjamin and Eunice 
(Nourse) Porter, and was born in Danvers, Mass., January 
13, 1755, He married Hannah Curtis, daughter of Rev, 
Philip and Elizabeth (Buss) Curtis, in Sharon, Mass,, No- 
vember 9, 1777. Their oldest child was baptized in Sharon 
in July, 1778, He came to Peterborough in 1786, and lived 
in that town until his death, December 2, 1843, aged 83 years. 
He was a tailor by trade. In his application for pension he 
says he came to Peterborough in 1786, His oldest child was 
born in Peterborough in 1777, says Dr. Smith in Genealo- 
gies, page 226, which fixes the date as 1776, if the statement 
is correct. 

He was a private in Captain Israel Hutchinson's com- 
pany of minute men which answered the alarm of April 19, 
1775, and was in service two days. May 4, 1775, he enlisted 
into Captain Ebenezer Francis's company of Colonel John 
Mansfield's regiment. Discharged, December 31. Term, 
seven months, 27 days. On a muster roll dated August 1, 
1775, and on the company return dated October 6th, Gave 
order for bounty coat or its equivalent in money, October 
26, 1775, dated at Winter Hill. On June 22, 1775, he gave 
an order, dated at Cambridge, for advanced pay. On the 
same day he is reported as having taken the oath required by 
the Continental Congress, of the Massachusetts army. At the 
expiration of this term he enlisted for one month, and was 
then discharged. He enlisted, March 8, 1781, into Captain 
Henry Pierce's company of Colonel Theophilus Cotton's 
regiment, and was discharged March 31. Term, 26 days. 
This service was in Rhode Island. He was allowed 65 miles' 
travel. This regiment was called into service by Governor 
Hancock for a term of 40 days unless sooner discharged. 
In his application for pension he does not mention this en- 
listment. But without doubt he is the man serving it. The 
above enlistments were to the credit of Massachusetts. Mass. 
Rolls, Vol. XII, page 592. He was probably the man who 
enlisted into Captain Abel Walker's company, of Colonel 
Benjamin Bellows's regiment, June 28, 1777, in answer to 
the Ticonderoga Alarm. Discharged July 9th. Term, 12 



284 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

days. Was paid £3 10s Id. XV, 32, 3^. If he was the 
Peterborough James Porter this enlistment should be ac- 
credited to that town, as he was then a resident of it. 

His application for a pension is dated October 2, 1832, and 
was sworn to before Edmund Parker, Judge of Probate for 
Hillsborough County. 

"He says that he is 77 years of age. That he entered the 
service of the United States under the following oflScers 
and served as herein. That is to say, that about the 1st of 
May, in the year 1775, at Danvers, in the County of Essex, 
Commonwealth of Mass., he enlisted into Capt. Ebenezer 
Francis' Company, Col. Mansfield's regiment to serve as a 
Private 8 months. Billy Porter was Lieutenant and Arthur 
White Ensign of the Company. Isaac Hutchinson was Lt. 
Col. and Cora Putnam Major of the Regt. He marched to 
Cambridge where he served part of the time, and part at a 
place within the bounds of Charlestown, as he thinks, and 
served his time out, which was the last day of December 
that year. The Regiment was in Gen. Sullivan's brigade, and 
at his request, the Company agreed to serve one month longer 
and was discharged. He was born in Danvers and lived 
there during the war, and in the year 1786 came to Peter- 
borough, where he has ever since lived. 

James Porter." 
In prosecution of this claim he gives the following 
deposition : 

"Q. When, and in what year were you born? 

"In Danvers, year 1755, as I believe. County of Essex, 
Mass. 

"Q. Have you a record of your age? Where? 

"I have no record, but suppose there is one in Danvers. 

"Q. Where were you living when called into the service? 
Where since the Rev. War? Where now? 

"I lived in Danvers. 

"Q. How called into Service: Drafted? Volunteer? Sub- 
stitute? If substitute, for whom? 

"I enlisted for 8 months. Volunteered for 1 month. 

"Q. State names of officers. Regiment (Continental or 
Militia) and general circumstances. 

"Have stated names in Declaration. 

"Q. Give names of persons in your present neighbor- 
hood who can testify to veracity and Character. 



Personal and Military Sketches. 285 

"Rev. Elijah Dunbar, Samuel Smith, Jonathan Smith, 
John Steele, Stephen P. Steele, Esqrs, and others." 

He was placed on the pension roll, April 24, 1833, at the 
rate of $5 per month. The certificate of his military service 
from the Secretary of State of Massachusetts, accompanying 
his application, does not contain his service in Colonel 
Cotton's regiment given above, though it is found in the 
printed rolls. 



Richard Richardson. Went from Townsend, Mass., to 
Stoddard, N. H., in 1771, and appears to have lived in Stod- 
dard for many years. Date of birth 1754, probably at 
Townsend. He reared a family of ten sons and two daugh- 
ters, and died in Stoddard, July 20, 1831, aged 77 years. 
He was never a resident of Peterborough, but is on the town 
list of soldiers. See History, page 154- 

A private in Captain William Scott's company which 
answered the Lexington Alarm, April 19, 1775. Service, 
three days. Enlisted April 23, 1775, into Captain William 
Scott's company of Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment. 
On pay roll of company dated August 1st, and on return of 
same dated October 6, 1775. Gave order for bounty coat or 
its equivalent in money, November 14, 1775; discharged, 
December 31st. Service, eight months, seven days. Resi- 
dence, Peterborough, also Stoddard. Mass. Rolls, Vol. XIII, 
page 261, and N. H. State Papers, Vol. XV, page UiO, where 
his residence is given Stoddard. He is claimed by Stoddard 
for fourteen days' service at Cambridge in 1775. XVI, 839. 
Is one of the four men returned from Stoddard by Enoch 
Hale in obedience to an order from the Committee of Safety, 
dated April, 1777, directing him to raise 119 men for the 
Continental Army out of his regiment of militia. XIV, 
515. On muster roll of Captain Jason Wait's company of 
Colonel John Stark's regiment dated May, 1778. Enlisted 
May 3, 1777. Age, 36 years; residence, Stoddard; paid a 
bounty of £20, and 5s for travel. XIV, 591. Claimed by 
Stoddard as one of its three years' men, and was paid by the 



28G Peterborough in the Revolution. 

town a bounty of £30. XYI, 840. On roll of Third Com- 
pany, Colonel Cilley's regiment, to equalize the pay of sol- 
diers on account of depreciation of the currency, for service 
prior to January 1, 1780, and was paid |172.40. XV, 713. 
On a similar roll of same company and regiment for service 
in 1780, and was paid |21.10. XVI, 199. Discharged, April 
5, 1780. XIII, J/55. In a petition dated Stoddard, Novem- 
ber 5, 1782, he states that he "was out in the Service of his 
Country in the first three years service of the present war." 
He also says that he was paid in State notes, and then held 
one for £43 18s, and also one for $73, which he wanted paid. 
XIII, Jf66. The following is his application for pension : 

"That in A. D. 1777, the 5th day of April, I enlisted as 
Private Soldier in the U. S. Army, in the Continental Army, 
at Alstead, N. H., under Capt. Jason Wate, for Term of 3 
years, Said Co. belonged to Col. Cilley's Kegt. and Gen. 
Poor's Brigade. And Served my time out, and Received my 
Discharge from Col. Cilley of the 5th day of April the year 
A. D. 1780 at Newtown, Conn. 

"I further say that I lost my hom about five years ago 
and all of mj^ papers was consumed by fire and I Suppose 
my Discharge was burnt with them if it was not I cannot 
tell what became of it. 

"Also I further say upon Oath that I am poor and Stand 
in need of Assistance from my Country for Support. 

(Signed) Rchrd Richardson 

Marlow, December 28th 1818" 

His second declaration, under the act of 1820 : 

"That he enlisted April 5th 1777 under Capt. Jason Wait, 
Col. Joseph Cilley's Regt. Gen. Poor's Brigade. N. H. Line, 
and was Discharged April 5th A. D. 1780, at Newtown, Conu. 

"The date of my Original Declaration is April 23d 1818, 
and my Pension Certificate is No. 5,648. I have received the 
Pension. 

"Swears that he is a Resident Citizen etc. (usual formula). 

"My occupation is Farmer, but am not able to pursue it 
by reason of old age. My Family cousists of my wife Re- 
becca, aged 37, my Son, Nehemiah Jones, aged 10, not able 
to support themselves. 

"Total value in property, |31.00. 



Personal and Military Sketches. 287 

"Sept. 4th 1820. 
"Schedule 

"Containing the Whole Estate and Income of Richard 
Richardson (clothing and bedding excepted) by him sub- 
scribed and exhibited in the Court of Common Pleas, Co. 
Cheshire, State N. H. 

1 Cow 14 

3 Sheep — 3 Lambs 6 

1 Swine & 1 pig 6 

Household furniture valued at 5 



31 
(Signed) Richard Richardson" 



John Ritchie. Son of William and Mary (Waugh) 
Ritchie. His father came to Peterborough in 1749. The 
son was the first child born in town(?). Date of his birth 
February 11, 1750. Enlisted into Captain William Scott's 
company of Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment, June 
13, 1775. See Mass. Rolls, Vol. XIII, 302. On roll of said 
company of October 6th. Receipted for bounty coat, No- 
vember 14. 

His name is given on the Mass. Rolls, see Vol. XIII, 
'page 278, 302, from which the list in N. E. State Papers, XV, 
739 is taken, as James, but there is no doubt that he is the 
same as the son of William Ritchie above referred to, and 
born in 1750. He died at either Cambridge or Lexington, 
January 12, 1776, and was buried in the old cemetery in 
Lexington. The inscription on his tombstone is: 

MEMENTO MORI 

In Memory of Mr 

James Richey of Peterborough Son 

of Mr William 

Richey & Mrs. Mary 

his wife who 

Departed this Life 

Janr 12tli 1776 In 

the 25tii year 

of his age 



288 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

James, the son of William and Mary Richey, was born 
March 10, 1754, and died in Peterborough, March G, 1800, 
aged 51 years. Sec Hist. c€- Genealogies, page 233. Inscrip- 
tions on gravestones, Old Cemetery, page 49. 



Alexander Robbe. Was the second son of William and 
(probably) Agnes (Patterson) Robbe, and was born in 
Ireland in 1720. His father was also born in County Tyrone, 
Ireland, in 1092, and was one of the earliest settlers in town. 
He came to this country in 1730 with his family. Alexander 
married Elizabeth Cunningham, of Peterborough, July 9, 
1754. He was Selectman in 1703, '09, '71, '72, '83, '84, '85 
and '80 — eight years. One of the Committee of Safety in 
1775. For many years he was one of the leading men in 
town and prominent in public affairs. He died February 3, 
1800, aged 80 years. History of Pctcrhorough, Genealogies, 
235, 236 and 237. For sketch of his service as a soldier in 
the French and Indian War, see ante, page 9. 

Captain of a company of Peterborough men which 
answered the Ticonderoga Alarm in 1777. Mustered June 
29, 1777 ; discharged, July 3 ; service, five days. Wages, £12 
per month. Total pay and rations, £2 10s. XV, 101, 103. 
A private in Captain Joseph Parker's company, Colonel 
Isaac Wyman's regiment, raised out of Colonel Enoch Hale's 
regiment of militia, to reinforce the American army in 
Canada in 1770. Mustered and paid, July 18, 1770, bounty 
£0; one month's pay £3 18s; travel, 4 shillings. It was 
ordered to rendezvous at Haverhill on the Connecticut River. 
XIV, 333. Served till December 1st following. Service, 
four months, 13 days. 

Also Captain of the Peterborough company in the militia 
of the State, in January, 1770. Original roll of his men 
dated January 13, 1770, is in possession of the Peterborough 
Historical Society. See Roll, ante, page 27. 



David Robbe. Was the son of John and Elizabeth 
(Creaton) Robbe, who was an elder brother of Alexander 



Personal and Military Sketches. 289 

Eobbe; a grandson of William Robbe, one of the earliest 
settlers. Born in Peterborough, October 13, 1752. Just 
prior to, or about the beginning of the Revolution, he re- 
moved, with his father, to Stoddard. 

Answered the Lexington Alarm in Captain William 
Scott's company, April 19, 1775; discharged, April 23d. 
Service, three days. On the same day he re-enlisted into 
Captain Scott's company of Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's 
regiment, and was discharged December 31st; service, eight 
months, seven days. Wages, 40 shillings per month. On 
roll of Captain Scott's company, October 6. Receipted for 
bounty coat, November 14, 1775. Residence, Peterborough, 
N. H. (Also given as Stoddard). Mass. Rolls, Yol. XIII, 
page 369. N. H. State Papers, XV, 740, where he is re- 
ported as from Stoddard. Private in Captain John Tag- 
gart's company in Lt.-Col. Heald's regiment of volunteers, 
which marched from Peterborough Slip (Sharon) to relieve 
the garrison at Ticonderoga, in 1777. Enlisted June 30, 
1777; discharged, July 2nd; service, three days. Total pay 
and travel, £1 Os 3d XV, 104. On the list of soldiers 
claimed by Stoddard, as at Cambridge in 1775, 14 days, and 
at Royalton, Mass., as a Corporal, in 1780, 25 days. XVI, 
839, 840. There is no other record of this latter service. 
He was apparently a citizen of Stoddard in 1777 and 1778. 
XIII, 465. He died probably in Stoddard. 



John Robbe. Was the oldest son of William and Agnes 
(Patterson) Robbe, one of the pioneers of Peterborough. 
Born in Ireland about 1719 or 1720. He came to this country 
with his parents in 1730. They lived in ToAvnsend and 
Lunenburg previous to coming to Peterborough. John 
Robbe paid a poll tax in Lunenburg in 1743. He married 
Elizabeth Creaton at Townsend, Mass., December 26, 1751. 
He was Highway Surveyor in Peterborough in 1760, '61, '62, 
'68 and '69, and Constable in 1772. The same or the fol- 
lowing year he removed to Stoddard. He was living in 
Ackworth, N. H., in 1795. He died in Rockingham County, 

20 



290 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

N. H., at a date and in a town not discovered. His pension 
papers were destroyed when the British raided ^Vashington 
in 1814. 

He enlisted as Corporal into Captain John Taggart's 
company of Lt.-Col. Heald's regiment, June 30, 1777, to" 
answer the Ticonderoga Alarm, and was discharged July 2d. 
Service, tliree days. Was paid £1 Os 8d for wages and travel. 
XV;, lO.'i. Sergeant in Captain Stephen Parker's company. 
Colonel Moses Nichols's regiment. Enlisted July 19, 1777; 
discharged, September 20th. Service, two months, two days. 
Wages per month, £4 18s. Total pay and travel, £11 12s lOrZ. 
XV, 219. He was severely wounded in an ambuscade into 
which a portion of the troops fell on the day of the battle 
of Bennington, August 16, 1777. For an account of it, see 
sketch of Jeremiah Smith. Under the law of the State he 
was entitled to relief, and the following papers show how 
relief in such cases was obtained: 

"State of New Hampshire 
"To the Honble the general Assembly the humble petition 
of John Robbe of Stoddard in the County of Cheshire— 
humbly sheweth to the general Assembly — that on the 
sixteenth Day of August 1777 he was wounded in the 
Battle at Bennington by receiving a shot in the side 
of his head and by means of which wound your peti- 
tioner has ever since ben Disabled from Labour and 
procuring for himself the Common Necessaryes of 
Life — your petitioner therefore humbly prays that 
the Hon^le general Assembly would (in there Wisdom & 
goodness) Condescend to grant to your petitioner some small 
support whereby he may be able in some Respects to Live as 
a Disabled Soldier ought to Live — tho as the Times ai-e hard 
your petitioner only Begs But for a small portion to be 
allowd him — and thus your humble petitioner — humbly 
prays that your Honours would Take his petition into Con- 
sideration and Do for him as you in your Wisdom shall see 
fit to do for your poor Disabled subject. 

John Robb" 
"Bennington— Septemi- 1st 1777— 
The Bearer hereof, Sergeant John Robb is permitted to be 



Personal and Military Sketches. 291 

absent from Camp seventeen days being wounded in Battle 
the 16th Augt last part — 

By order of Brigr Genl Stark 

John Casey A. D. G." 

"This may Certify that Sargent John Robbe of Genl 
Stark's Brigade Colo Nichols Regmt & Capt Parker's Com- 
pany was wounded on ye 16tli August 1777 Near Binnington 
by a Shot from the Enemy. 

Moses Nichols Colo." 

"Amherst ye Septr 1777" 

"This may certify that Sergent John Robbe of Cap* 
Parker Comp : and Col : Nichols Reigt in General Stark's 
Brigade belonging to the State of New Hampshire on the 
Sixteenth of August A. D. 1777 near Bennington in an 
Action with the enemy in defence of the united states 
Received a wound by an ounce ball passing through his 
shoulder and a buckshot into his ear which has rendered 
him incapable of Supporting himself in any way or manner 
much less a Large family the Subscriber being at that time 
Surgeon to Colo Nichols Reigment. 

John Young Surgeon. 

Peterborough June 8th i782" 

"State of New Hampshire 
"In the House of Representatives, June 14th 1781 Com- 
mittee to consider of the Petition of John Robb &c reported 
in part as their Opinion that the said Robb be allowed & 
paid the one third part of the monthly pay of a Sarjeant in 
the Continental Army to be computed from the time of his 
Discharge from the Service to the present time including 
whatever Sum or Sums he may have already received and 
he be entitled to receive one-fourth part of his said monthly 
pay for the future till the further Order of the General 
Assembly and that he be properly enrolled as an Invalid 
Pensioner agreeably to the Resolves of the Hon^e Congress 
of the United States of America in such case made and 
Provided. Sign<i Geo Frost for the Committee which re- 
port being read and considered. Voted that the same be re- 
ceived and accepted. 

John Dudley Speaker P. T. 
Sent up for Concurrence 
In Council June 15*^ 1782 read & 

J. Pearson D. Secy." 



292 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

"Exeter November 23<1 1782 — There appears to be due to 
Serjeant John Robbe Forty-two pounds five shillings & seven 
pence in full of his pay as as Invalid to November 14tli 1782 
£42 5 7 

Ephm Robinson Pay Mastr" 

"There is due Serjeant John Robbe Twenty-three Pounds 
Two shillings & Eleven pence in full for one Quarter of his 
Monthly pay as an Invalid to April 1^ 1781 — 

£23 2s lid. 

Ephi» Robinson Pay Mastr 

"Eeced an Order on the Treas^ for the above sum 

Jacob Copland." 



"Jany ye 28th 1778— 
"To the inhabitants of the Town of Stoddard Gent i am 
(by Reason of the wound I Received in the Battle at Ben- 
nington on the 16th of Augt last) Quite unable to suport my 
self and by no means fit to Enter the Corps of invaleids pur- 
posed by the Hon^le Congress — and as I was in the sarvis of 
this State when wounded — beg so much favour that you 
would att your next meeting Lay me att the feet of the 
general assembly of this State that they would be graciously 
pleased to Condesend to grant me some suport and you 
will greatly oblige a suffering Friend to america and your 
very humble sarvt. 

John Robbe." 

"Stoddard, February ye 2^ 1778— 
"the inhabitants of the Town of Stoddard Taking the 
above request into Consideration — 

"1st Voted and Resolved that Joseph Rounseval Esqr 
Representative for this Clas be Directed to Take the above 
Request Togather with an adress to the genl assembley from 
B : general John Stark, and lay them before the genl assem- 
bley for their Consideration — 

"2nd Voted that John Robbe of this Towne be Recom- 
mended to the genl Cort as one who always hath been a warm 
friend to america and to ye Cause ever since the Dispute 
began and is an object worthy their Consideration — and is 
as we apprehend unable to enter the Corps of invalaids pur- 



Personal and Military Sketches. 293 

posed by the honble Congress and by his wounds Quite 
unable to suport him Self. 

Isaac Temple 
Silas Wright 
Joseph Dodge 

Selectmen of Stoddard.'^ 
On this petition the Legislature voted that he was en- 
titled to half pay and £30 for extra expenses. 

XVI, 439, 442. 

For his pension record see XVI, 323, 331, 334, 337, 339. 

In Stoddard's list of soldiers furnished the army, he is 
claimed as in the Bennington Campaign for 70 days in 1777 ; 
in the alarm at Royalton in 1780, as Corporal, 25 days, and 
as enlisted for three years on July 15, 1782. XVI, 287, for 
which latter enlistment he was paid a bounty of £90. XVI, 
839, 840. He is on the muster rolls of Captain Isaac Frye's 
company of Colonel Henry Jackson's regiment for January, 
February, March and April, 1784. XXX, 496. Date of dis- 
charge not given. His entire military service was to the 
credit of Stoddard. Through Jeremiah Smith, when a 
member of Congress, 1790-1798, he obtained a pension from 
the general government. No rolls of the service at Royalton 
in 1780 have been found. 



Samuel Robbe (1st). There were two of the name in 
the army. Samuel Robbe, the son of James, and grandson 
of the pioneer, William Robbe, was born in Peterborough, 
October 11, 1760, though in his pension application he says 
the date was October, 1759. The former date is correct. 
James, his father, married Jean Scott, probably a sister of 
Alexander Scott. After the war he (Samuel) removed to 
Stoddard, N. H., where he married Abigail Alexander, April 
28, 1785, and where he died, November 9, 1833, aged 73 years. 

He enlisted into Captain Alexander Robbe's company 
which answered the Ticonderoga Alarm in 1777, June 29, 
1777. Discharged, July 3d; service, five days. Total pay 
and travel, £1 15s lOd. XV, 101. Private in Captain Ed- 



294 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

mund Briant's company, Colonel Daniel Moore's regiment, 
which marched from New Ipswich to join the army at Sara- 
toga in 1777. Enlisted September 28; discharged, October 
25th ; service, 28 days. Wages per month, £4 10s. Total pay 
and travel, £6 19s. XV, 357. On this enlistment he claims 
to have served six months, but the claim cannot be verified 
by the rolls. 

His application for pension, dated November 5, 1833, says : 

"That in the year 1777, he thinks about July 1st, he 
volunteered for 6 months into the service of the United 
States, and marched to the north, and joined the Co. of Capt. 
Thomas in Col. Reynolds Regt. N. H. Troops, that he was at 
Fort Edward, was at the taking of Burgoyne, and after his 
Surrender was marched down the North River and dismissed 
at some place on North River above New York City, at a 
place which he does not now recollect. That he served as he 
believes, the full term of 6 months in that Service. That 
he was out at one other time on a call for men for a short 
time, but he does not recollect with sufficient distinctness 
the time to make it a proof of his claim for pension. That he 
was born in Peterboro Co, of Hillsboro, N. H., in the year 
1759, in October. That there is a record of his age in Peter- 
boro, on the Town Book. That he went from said Peterboro 
into said service. That he removed from said Peterboro to 
Stoddard where he now lives. That he was a volunteer in 
said service. That he recollects Gen. Esty in said service. 
That he never received any written discharge. That he does 
not know of any one living who was personally knowuing to 
his said service except Col. Evans, whose Declaration he 
sends. That he is known to Rev. Isaac Robinson, Clergyman 
of Stoddard, where he has lived for 40 j^ears, and to Col. 
Nathaniel Evans, who can testify to his veracity, and believe 
in Service. (Signed) Samuel (his mark) Robb." 

No existing rolls show his six months' service in 1777, 
except as above. A roll in the U. S. Pension Oflice does show 
that Samuel Robbe enlisted September 21, 1781, into Captain 
Othniel Thomas's company of Colonel Daniel Runnells's 
(Reynolds) regiment; rank. Corporal, This regiment, or 
some companies of it, were discharged November 25, 1781. 

XVII, m- 



Personal and Military Sketches. 295 

Samuel Robbe (No. 2) . Was probably a son of John and 
Elizabeth (Creaton) Robbe, and grandson of William Robbe, 
pioneer, and was born in Peterborough in 17G3. He went to 

Stoddard with his father in 1772. Married Mary 

He was living in Stoddard in 1790. See TJ. S. Census. 
Afterward he removed to Penfield, Monroe County, New 
York, where he died, May 28, 1835, aged 72 years. On July 
20, 1781, he enlisted into Captain Benjamin Ellis's company 
of Colonel George Reid's regiment, N. H. Line, for three 
years, and served until the end of the war, two and a half 
years. XVI^ 286. He is on Stoddard's claim for soldiers. 
XVI, 840, and was paid a State bounty of £90.* 

In his claim for pension, dated April 15, 1818, he states : 

"That he Served his Country in the Revolutionary war, 
and that he enlisted in July 1781 as a Private Soldier, in 
Capt. Ellis Company of Infantry, but that he was mustered 
or Served in Capt. Cherry's Co. in the Regt. Commanded 
by Col. George Reed, N, H. Line, and that he, the Deponent 
enlisted as above for the term of 3 years, but at the close of 
the War he received an Honorable Discharge which is out of 
his possession, nor is he able to obtain it. That during said 
time he was stationed at West Point. That he is 55 years of 
age and in Indigent Circumstances, and in need of Support 
from Government, and he therefore prays that his name be 
placed on the Pension list pursuant to the Act of Congress 
March 18, 1818. He further saith that at the time of his Dis- 
charge he was in Capt Potter's Co. in the Regt. commanded 
by Col. Hull, he (deponent) having been transferred from 
one Co. and Regt. to another. 

(Signed) Samuel Robbe" 

Under the act of 1820, requiring pensioners to file certifi- 
cates of their property and circumstances, he repeats the 
statement of his service as given in his original application, 
and adds that 

"he served nearly two years in the N. H. Line, first in Capt 
( Samuel ) Cherry's Co. afterward transferred to Capt. Moody 
Austin's Co. both in the Regt. commanded by Col. George 
Reed, commencing to the best of his knowledge in the year 
1782." 

* The roll in XVI, 286, and the claims of Stoddard in XVI, 840, do not agree. The 
same man is meant in both references. 



296 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

He thus gives a schedule of his property as aforesaid : 
1 old horse |30.— 1 small hog |2, |32. 

1 five pail kittle |4— One 3 pail |3 7. 

1 small pot, $1,121—7 drag teeth |3.50 4.62 

1 set cups and saucers .31 — Table 1. 5 knives 

and forks .50— 1.81 

6 plates .44—1 old chest .37—4 chairs 1, 1.81 

3 pails .75 3 bowls .19 .94 

$48.18 
"And I do further solemnly swear that I am by occupa- 
tion a farmer, and that by age and bodily infirmities am able 
to perform but little labor, and that my family consists of 
my wife, Mary, aged 52 years, very infirm and unable to work 
much, my son Henry, aged 15, my son James, aged 12, and 
daughter Relief, aged 10. 

(Signed) Saml Robbe" 



I 



William Robbe. Son of William Robbe, the early set- 
tler, and born in Sudbury, Mass., November 22, 1730. The 
family came to Peterborough from Townsend, Mass. He 
was one of the foremost citizens of Peterborough for many 
years. Selectman in 1762, '66, '74, '75, '77, '78, '85 and 1786 
— eight years. In 1776 he was one of the Committee of 
Safety, besides holding other town offices of lesser import- 
ance. Married Eleanor Creaton, daughter of Mrs. Thomas 
Cunningham by a former husband. 

Sergeant in Captain Josiah Brown's company of Colonel 
Enoch Hale's regiment, which marched to reinforce the army 
at Ticonderoga in May, 1777. Enlisted May 8, 1777. Length 
of service, 47 days. Wages per month, £3 8s. Total pay and 
travel, £8 5s 2d. XV, 20. Private in Captain Stephen 
Parker's company of Colonel Moses Nichols's regiment 
which marched to reinforce the army at Stillwater in July, 
1777. Enlisted July 19, 1777 ; discharged, September 26th ; 
service, two months, eight days. Wages, £4 10s per month. 
Total pay and travel, £12 Is 6d. XV, 221. 

He was, says Rev. Elijah Dunbar, a man of amiable and 
disinterested disposition, of modest, unassuming manners, 



Personal and Military Sketches. 297 

and of inflexible uprightness. He was a seventh son in 
succession, and was commonly believed to possess the power 
of curing scrofula, or ''Kings Evil," by the touch of his 
hands. Esteemed a gifted person and of philanthropic dis- 
position, he devoted himself to this form of healing. He 
charged no fees, on the contrary, he gave to each patient a 
small coin — four pence, half penny — to be worn around the 
neck. If a cure was effected the patients could reward him, 
but they rarely did. So many consulted him that to escape, 
he removed to Stoddard, but the afflicted followed him, and 
he finally returned to Peterborough, where he spent the rest 
of his life. Confessing to the undeniable effects of his lay- 
ing on of hands, he never assigned the reasons, saying he 
''knew no more about it than the others." At one time he 
was a Lieutenant in the militia. He died June 8, 1815, in 
Peterborough, at the age of 85 years. N. H. Historical Col- 
lections, Vol I. 



Jeduthen Roberts. Nothing can be learned of his ante- 
cedents or what became of him after the war. Place and 
date of birth and death unknown. Probably died in some 
town in Vermont. 

In 1775 he was a private in Captain Dexter's company of 
Colonel Woodbridge's (Mass.) regiment. Receipted for 
advance pay at Cambridge, July 7, 1775. Also on memo- 
randum of firelocks received of sundry officers and men: 
Date of delivery, January 1, 1776. Mass. Rolls, Vol. XIII, 
page 406. Service, about eight months. He was a private 
in Captain George Aldrich's company of Major Benjamin 
Whitcomb's rangers. Return dated July 4, 1779. Resi- 
dence, Guilford, Cumberland County, Vt. XV, 701. En- 
listed February 17, 1777, for the war. XVI, 176. Pay roll 
made up to December 31, 1779, and was paid £68 16s. XV, 
704. Is claimed by Westmoreland, N. H. XVI, 877. He 
was in service in 1782, probably under another enlistment, 
but date of discharge from enlistment in 1777, and of re- 
entry into service not given. There was a controversy be- 



298 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

tween the towns of Westmoreland and Peterborough as to 
which town the service should be credited, but on July 12, 
1782, the Committee of Safety ordered that he should be 
accredited to Peterborough. N. H. Historical Collections, 
Vol. VII, page 291. See also N. H. State Papers, Vol. XVI, 
517, and 522, 877, 879. If living iu 1700, he was not then a 
resident of the State. April 7, 1781, he petitioned the State 
of Vermont for depreciation money. To this the State 
answered: "It is properly a demand on the State of New 
Hampshire." But on March 7, 1787, he was granted £40 Gs 
Gd by Vermont on account of depreciation money. 



Thomas Sanders (or Sanderson). Was the son of 
Joseph and Ruth Sanderson and was born in Groton, Mass., 
March 16, 1746. His name is not attached to the Associa- 
tion Test in Peterborough nor to the roll of Alexander 
Robbe's company of militia. He was a member of the First 
New Hampshire Regiment, Colonel Stark's, in 1776, under 
the name of Thomas Saunders. 

He is one of the men returned by Colonel Enoch Hale 
under an order^ of the Committee of Safety dated April, 1777, 
directing him to recruit 119 men out of his militia regiment 
for the Continental Army. A member of Captain William 
Scott's company of Colonel Joseph Cilley's regiment. XIV, 
577. On a pay roll for the equalization of the soldier's pay, 
of the same company and regiment, for service prior to 
January 1, 1780, and was paid |20.G0. XV, 711. Served 
for Peterborough. On a roll of men enlisted for the war in 
Colonel Joseph Cilley's regiment. Residence, Peterborough. 
XIV, Jf68. On roll of Peterborough men enlisted for three 
years. Paid a bounty of £20 and 8s lOd for travel. XIV, 
612. Enlisted April 1, 1777. Kidder's History of First New 
Hampshire Regiment says he served three full years from 
April 1, 1777, to April 13, 1780. This is an error. On the 
depreciation rolls for service in 1780 his name does not 
appear at all, and on the same rolls for service prior to 1780 
his pay was only $20.60, indicating a short term of service. 



Personal and Military Sketches. 299 

John Devire, of the same regiment, who died July 20, 1777, 
had due him only |20.70 by the latter roll. Thomas Sander- 
son probably died in service in July, 1777. His name no- 
where appears after that date except upon the depreciation 
roll above mentioned. 

On some rolls the name is Sanders or Saunders, on others 
Sanderson. The same man is intended. 



THE SCOTT FAMILY. 

The service of this family in the Revolution was so ex- 
ceptional that it should be briefly summarized. In 1775 
there were living in Peterborough, two brothers, John, un- 
married, aged 69 years, and William, aged 60 years. Alex- 
ander, a third brother, had lived in town, owned land and 
carried on business there, but about 1769 or 1770, with some 
of his sons, removed to Stoddard; one son, William, still 
remained in Peterborough. Both he and his family are 
closely identified with its history, and some of his descen- 
dants were prominent citizens of it for three generations, 
and therefore may properly be claimed as belonging to the 
town. Besides these three brothers, there was, in 1775, a 
William Scott, known as Major Scott, who was the son of 
Archibald, a fourth brother, who never came to this country. 
There is a family tradition that these four brothers were 
sons of one Alexander Scott. Whether this Alexander ever 
came to this country is not definitely determined. An 
Alexander Scott and his wife, on November 14, 1734, ap- 
plied for admission to the church in Lancaster, Mass., and 
presented testimonials from the pastor of a church in Ire- 
land. They were allowed "the privilege of occasional Com- 
munion with us in all ordinances upon their submitting to 
discipline and walking orderly while their abode is among 
us." — Lancaster Church Records. Where and when this 
Alexander Scott died has not been discovered. He certainly 
was not the Alexander Scott who filed intentions of mar- 



300 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

riage with Margaret Robbe in Lancaster, February 24, 1739, 
and he may have been the father of the brothers named. 

However this may be, there were three brothers and the 
son of a fourth brother, with their families, living, or re- 
cently had lived, in Peterborough when the war broke out, 
and their record is a remarkable chapter in the history of 
the town. John, the unmarried brother, served two enlist- 
ments. Alexander served one enlistment in 1780. His son, 
William the Captain, was in service nearly eight years. 
Another son, James, served two enlistments. His grandson, 
John, was ofiicer's servant, and enlisted man six years, and 
his grandson, David, served six years, and died in the army 
in 1782. One son was a cripple. 

William, the third brother, served two short enlistments. 
His son, Thomas, three enlistments, in all about five years. 
Another son, William, also three enlistments — about two 
years. A third son, David, one enlistment of three years. 

Major William Scott, son of Archibald, served eight 
3^ears and eight months. His son, John, as oflQcer's boy and 
soldier, about eight years. He had another son, Lewis, aged 
one year. 

Out of these fifteen males one was a cripple, and one an 
infant. The oldest soldier was 69, and the youngest, 10 
years. Twelve of the fifteen were in the army, and their 
combined service was more than 40 years. It is doubtful if 
this record can be equalled by that of any other family in 
the thirteen States. Their individual service is here given : 

Alexander Scott. Perhaps the son of Alexander Scott, 
who in 1734, with his wife, asked leave to join in the Com- 
munion service with the First Church in Lancaster, Mass. 

For outline of Alexander Scott's (possibly the son of the 
last named Alexander) service in the French and Indian 
War, see page 9, ante. 

He removed to Stoddard in 17G9 or 1770, and took up 
land. Lot No. 9, in the Sixth Range, and two years later had 
a house built and nearly twelve acres of land cleared, with 



Personal and Military SketcJies. 301 

a large field of rye and a good garden. XXVIII, 281, 282 
and 285. j ' ''^.'^■■^ 

He is claimed by the town of Stoddard to have served 25 
days as private in the alarm at Eoyalton, Vt., in 1780, but 
no roll of his company or regiment in this service has been 
found. XVI, 840. He married Margaret Robbe, in Lancas- 
ter, Mass., in 1739. He settled in Lancaster about 1734, and 
lived there, in Lunenburg, or in Townsend until he went to 
Peterborough. From Peterborough he returned to Town- 
send, then went back to Peterborough. 

About 1758 he removed to Dublin, N. H., where he took 
up land, and from thence to Stoddard, where he died, June 
20, 1787. His son, David, born in Townsend, August 16, 
1744, served in the French and Indian War, see ante page 9, 
and his sons, William, born May, 1742 (Captain in Colonel 
Jackson's regiment), and James, born in Townsend, April 
16, 1749, were in the Revolutionary War. His grandsons, 
John and David, were also in Colonel Jackson's regiment. 



David Scott (1st). Names of his parents were William 
and Phoebe (Woods) Scott. Probably born in Dublin in 
1762 or 1763, and was a brother of the John Scott serving 
in Captain Joseph Fox's company of Colonel Henry Jack- 
son's (Mass.) regiment in 1777. Enlisted as private in 
Captain Joseph Fox's company. Colonel Henry Jackson's 
regiment. On roll of Continental pay accounts from 
July 18, 1777, to July 18, 1780. Residence, Pepperell, 
Mass. Also Colonel David Henley's regiment; on return of 
recruits for knapsacks, dated Boston, February 16, 1778; 
reported under marching orders. Also, Captain William 
Scott's company of Colonel Henley's regiment; pay roll for 
November, 1778. Captain Fox's company, Colonel Jackson's 
regiment. Muster roll for April, 1779, dated at Pawiuxet. 
Enlisted July 18, 1777, for three years. Also Captain Fox's 
(Seventh) company, Colonel Jackson's regiment. On return 
up to December 31, 1779, dated Camp at Providence. Also 
on return certified at Camp near Morristown, April 30, 1780, 



302 Peterborough in tJw Revolution. 

of oflScers and men belonging to Colonel Lee's, Henley's and 
Jackson's regiments, and men belonging to Massachusetts in 
Colonel Henry Sherburn's regiment, who were incorporated 
into a regiment under command of Colonel Henry Jackson, 
agreeably to an engagement of April 9, 1779. Captain 
Fox's company; rank, drummer. Residence, Peterborough, 
N. H. (Also given Boston). Engaged for town of Attle- 
borough, Mass., July 18, 1777, for three years. Reported 
reduced to private, Jul}^ 6, 1778. On pay roll for June and 
July, 1780. Reported discharged July 18, 1780. His resi- 
dence on these rolls is given as Peterborough, and also 
Stoddard (1), Pepperell (2), and Boston (3). Mass. Rolls ^ 
Vol XIII, pages 912 and 913. 

Enlisted for Townsend, Mass., March 12, 1781, for three 
years, into Captain Abel Holden's company, Lieutenant- 
Colonel Calvin Smith's (Mass. Sixth) regiment. Descriptive 
list: Age, 18 years; stature, five feet, nine inches; complexion, 
light; hair, dark; eyes, blue; occupation, farmer. Engaged 
for Townsend. Wages allowed from March 12, 1781, to 
December 31, 1781, nine months, twenty days. Wages 
allowed from January 1, 1781, to October 6, 1782, nine 
months, six days. Reported on command, April, 1782. 
Also, reported died October 6, 1782. Order on Captain 
Benjamin Haywood, payable to Nathaniel Payne, dated Sep- 
tember 7, 1785, signed by William Scott for wages due his 
son, David Scott, late soldier in Sixth Regiment, while in 
the service. A certificate that Captain William Scott was 
the father of David Scott accompanies said order. Paid a 
bounty by Townsend, and served to the credit of said town. 
3fass. Rolls, Vol. XIII, pages 913. 91.). He is also 
on a roll of men belonging to New Hampshire serving in 
Colonel Henry Jackson's regiment, dated July 30, 1779, and 
was paid £15. XVI, 101. Also on roll of New Hampshire 
men serving in Colonel Jackson's regiment. XVI, .)7 and 
303. On both rolls his residence is given Peterborough. 
On rolls (1) of Ninth Company of Colonel Scammel's 
(Third) New Hampshire regiment to make good the wages 



Personal and Military Sketches. 303 

of the men on account of the depreciation of the currency, 
for service prior to January 1, 1780, and was paid |161.00. 
XV, 733. See return of June 23, 1780. XVI, 54- Also 
return in XV, ^27_, in both of which he is given as from 
Peterborough. He died in the army in the sixth year of 
his service, of camp fever, on October 6, 1782. 

In the Massachusetts printed rolls this David Scott is 
confused with David Scott, son of William and Margaret 
(Gregg) Scott. See next sketch. 



David Scott. The son of William and Margaret (Gregg) 
Scott, was born, it has been claimed, in Hopkinton, Mass., 
June 8, 1749 (though there is no record of it), and came to 
Peterborough with his parents about 1750. His first wife 
was Nancy Kobbe, and his second wife, Isabel Moore. He 
removed to Stoddard, N. H., and died there in 1815, aged 66 
years. 

Private in Captain William Scott's company which 
answered the Lexington Alarm, April 20, 1775. Discharged, 
April 23d; service, three days. Ee-enlisted into the same 
company, of Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment, April 
23, 1775. Discharged, December 31st ; service, eight months, 
seven days. On muster roll of the same company dated 
August 1st, and on a return dated October 6th, same year. 
Receipted for bounty coat or its equivalent in money, No- 
vember 14, 1775. Mass. Rolls, Vol. XIII, page 912. When 
he removed to Stoddard, in 1770, he built his log house and 
took up land there. XXVIII, 291. Residence given Stod- 
dard in the enlistment in Captain William Scott's company 
of Colonel Sargent's regiment in 1775. XV. 7^0. Claimed 
as a Stoddard man for fourteen days at Cambridge in 1775, 
and on the alarm at Royalton in 1780. XVI. 839, 8JfO. His 
rank in the latter service was Sergeant. There are no 
printed military rolls relating to this alarm at Royalton. 

(A David Scott is claimed as serving for the town of 
Hampton Falls in 1782. Enlisted at Camp, as per Captain 
Cherry's certificate, and allowed by the Committee of Safety, 



304 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

October 4, 1782. XVI, 508. No roll of this service is 
found, and it is doubtful if he is the man from Stoddard. 
Another David Scott was in Captain Ezra Towne's company 
of Colonel James Reed's regiment in 1775, and was reported 
killed at Bunker Hill, June 17th. XIV, 91, and also as 
wounded. XIV, ^3. He may have been from New Ips\\'ich 
or Dunstable, but he was not one of the Peterborough 
Scotts) . 



James Scott. James Scott was the son of Alexander 
and Margaret (Robbe) Scott, and was probably born in 
Peterborough, N. H. In 1770 he removed to Stoddard, and 
there, with his father, took up land and built his log house. 
XXVIII, 291. He was a resident of Stoddard from 1770 to 
the end of his life, and died there, intestate, in 1818. 

Corporal in Captain William Scott's company, which 
answered the Lexington Alarm in 1775. Marched April 
20th; discharged, April 23d; service, three days. Re- 
enlisted into Captain William Scott's company, afterward 
attached to Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment, April 
23, 1775; rank. Corporal. Discharged, December 31, 1775; 
service, eight months, seven days. On return of company 
dated October 6. Receipted for bounty coat, or its equiva- 
lent in money, November 14. Residence, Peterborough, 
also given Stoddard. Mass. Rolls, XIII, page 916. See 
State Papers. XV, 7^0, where he is accredited to Stoddard. 
Private in Captain John Taggart's company in Colonel 
Enoch Hale's regiment, which marched from Peter- 
borough Slip to reinforce the garrison at Ticonderoga 
in 1777. Enlisted June 29, 1777. Discharged, July 2d ; 
service, three days. Wages, £4 10s per month. Total 
pay and travel, £1 Os Sd. XV, lOJf. Private in Captain 
James Lewis's company, Colonel Daniel Moore's regi- 
ment, which marched from New Marlborough to join the 
Continental Army at Saratoga, September, 1777. Enlisted 
September 28th ; discharged, October 24th ; service, 27 days. 



Personal and Military Sketches. 305 

Wages, £4 10s per month. Total pay and travel, £6 5s 3d. 
XV, 360. No record of his service in 1780, at the Royalton 
Alarm, can be found on any roll, as claimed by the town of 
Stoddard. See XV, 8^0. There is a James Scott on the 
rolls of Captain Silas Wright's company, of Lieutenant- 
Colonel Heald's detachment, which marched from New 
Hampshire to reinforce the garrison at Ticonderoga in 1777. 
Enlisted June 29, 1777; discharged, July 11th; service, 13 
days. XV, 99. This enlistment covered the whole period 
that James Scott in Captain John Taggart's company was 
in service. 

If this latter was the James Scott from Stoddard, the 
one in Captain Wright's company was another of that name, 
and possibly from Winchester. The on in Captain Tag- 
gart's company is given as private, and the one serving in 
Captain Wright's company as Sergeant, but the rolls 
do not give him this rank. XV, 99. The claims of 
Stoddard are that James Scott served 14 days at the Cam- 
bridge Alarm, 12 days as Sergeant at the Ticonderoga 
Alarm, 28 days at the Saratoga Alarm, and 25 days at the 
Royalton Alarm, XVI, 839, 840. There is nothing in the 
rolls to identify the James Scott of Stoddard from the other 
man of same name, and in service at the same time. 

(There was also a James Scott, a Corporal, from Win- 
chester, N. H., in Captain Oliver Capron's company of 
Colonel Ephraim Doolittle's (Mass.) regiment in 1775, 
Discharged, December 31, 1775. Mass. Rolls, Vol. XIII, 
page 916. N. H State Papers, XV, 746.) 



John Scott. Perhaps son of Alexander Scott, Lancas- 
ter, Mass., 1734. Was born in Ireland in 1706, and, probably, 
was a brother of Alexander Scott and William Scott, Sr. 
Very little is known of him. He came to this country about 
1734 and settled in Peterborough some years before the Revo- 
lution, but date is uncertain. He never married, and his 
last years were passed in the family of Deacon Jonathan 

21 



306 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

Smith, where he died June 6, 1798, aged 92 years. He was 
buried in the Smith family lot and his friend, Jonathan 
Smith, had the following inscription carved on his monu- 
ment: 

"Erected to the memory of Mr. John Scott, 
Who departed this life June 6th, 1798. aged 92 years. 

He was a native of Ireland. 

He was an honest man, a virtuous citizen, and a good 

member of society." 

Enlisted as a private in Captain William Scott's com- 
pany which answered the Lexington Alarm April 19, 1775. 
Discharged, April 23d ; service, three days. Re-enlisted into 
the same company in Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's regi- 
ment April 2.3, 1775; discharged, December 31; service, 
eight months and seven days. On muster roll, dated August 
1. On return of same company dated October 6th. Re- 
ceipted for bounty coat or its equivalent in money, Novem- 
ber 14. Residence, Peterborough, il/ass. Rolls, Vol. XIII, 
'page 920. 921. N. H. State Papers, XV, 739. On roll of Cap- 
tain Edmund Briant's company of Colonel Daniel Moore's 
regiment, which marched from New Ipswich to join the army 
of General Gates at Stillwater. Enlisted September 28, 1777 ; 
discharged, Octobed 25th; service, 28 days. Wages, £4 10s 
Od per month. Total pay and travel, £7 3s 2d. XV, 356. 

There was a tradition among some of the descendants 
of Deacon Jonathan Smith that John Scott served in the 
army through nearly the whole war. But no service by him, 
other than given above, can be found on the printed rolls 
of New Hampshire or Massachusetts. 



John Scott. Son of Major William and Rosanna (Tait) 
Scott. Born in Peterborough, August 11, 1764. After the 
war he studied medicine, and practised his profession in 
New York State. Married Marcia Younglove, by whom he 
had two children, and died in New York. He was with his 
father (first as waiter boy), through the war, but enlisted 



Personal and Military Sketches. 307 

into the army, July 1, 1778; rank, fifer, and Fife Major in 
1781. On rolls as Fifer of Captain (Major) Scott's com- 
pany, Colonel Cilley's regiment, for service prior to January 
1, 1780, to equalize the pay of officers and men on account 
of the depreciation of the currency, and was paid |120.24. 
XV, 111. On a similar roll in the same company and regi- 
ment for service in 1780, and was paid |88. XYI, 198. 
Discharged, December, 1781. Date of death, May 6, 1839, 
aged 74 years. On the rolls of Captain William Scott's 
company. Colonel Cilley's regiment, as Fife Major for 1781,^ 
and was paid |98. XVI, 267. After his discharge he con- 
tinued to serve in the army as a volunteer until it was dis- 
banded in 1783. His military service was five years as an 
enlisted soldier. 

In Committee of Safety on September 21, 1782, it was 
"Ordered the Treasr to pay to Maj. Willie Scott, by Dis- 
count, out of the tax for the current year. Twenty pounds, 
being a State Bounty for his son John Scott, who engaged 
July 1, 1778 for three years service." — N. H. Hist. Coll., Vol. 
VII, page 298. 

His descendants are among the best people in Buffalo, 
New York. 

His pension application gives many interesting details 
of his service. It is dated April 4, 1818, and is as follows : 

"That said John Scott enlisted in the year 1778 as Fifer 
for 3 years, in the State of N. H, in the Company com- 
manded by Capt. William Scott (Father to said John Scott), 
7th Company of the 1st N. H. Regt. That he continued to 
serve in said Corps, or in the Service of the United States, 
until the end of the War. as Fifer and Fife Major, when he 
was Discharged from the Service in the High Lands at Con- 
stable Island, State of N. Y. 

"That he was in the Battles of White Plains, Trenton, 
Monmouth, and others. And that he is in Reduced Circum- 
stances, and stands in need of the Assistance of his Country 
for Support. That he has no other evidence of said Service, 
except as follows : to wit : 

"That of William Graham (that he was in the Service 
Previous to the enlistment above Stated, and after the en- 



308 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

listment expired until November or December 1783), and 
that he has no Written Discharge. 

(Signed) John Scott." 

Application 2. 

"That he the said John Scott, enlisted and joined the 
Army at Valley Forge, in the State of Penn. for 3 years, 
about April 30th 1778, in the Co. commanded by Capt. 
William Scott, in the 1st N. H. Regt. commanded by Col. 
Joseph Cilley, and Gen. Poor's Brigade. That he continued 
to serve in said Regt. as Fifer, until the 3 years for which 
he was enlisted were fully expired, when he was Discharged. 

"That he did not leave the Army, but continued to serve 
as Volunteer in said 1st N. H. Regt. in the Service of the 
United States, as Fife Major, until the end of the Revolu- 
tionary War, (viz.) till some time in Nov. 1783, when he 
was Discharged near West Point, with an Honorable Testi- 
mony of his Service by Lieut Colonel George Reid, then 
Commander of all the N, H. Troops in the U. S. Service. 

"That he was in the Battle of Monmouth, and several 
Skirmishes, and that he is in Reduced Circumstances, and 
Stands in need of the Assistance of his Country for Support. 
That he has no other evidence of said Service. 

(Signed) John Scott." 

Under the Statute of 1820, requiring pensioners to file a 
schedule of their property, dated June 1, 1820, after stating 
his military service, he stays: 

"I have no income other than is contained in the Schedule 
hereto annexed and by me subscribed. 

"The following is the just and true Inventory All my 
Estate — necessary clothing and bedding excepted: viz. 
One new cherry desk — One old pine desk — 
One cow — one yearland heifer — 
One pair Iron Andirons — One cherry table — 
One wooden Clock — 
"I have likewise in my possession a few plain chairs and 
common cooking utensils and table furniture, of a very cheap 
kind, which are not my property, but have been in my posses- 
sion eight years. 

"I am by profession a physician, but by reason of ray 
having had a leg and an arm broken, the Gout, Rheumatism, 
and a partial Palsey, I have been for the last eight years 
unable to follow my profession. 



Personal and Military Sketches. 309 

"I have no family residing with me except my wife 
Marcia, aged 55 years, who has been for a number of years 
in a feeble state of health, and for the last five years has 
been unable to make her own bed or prepare her own food. 

(Signed) John Scott." 



John Scott. Son of William Scott who was Captain in 
Henry Jackson's Massachusetts regiment, and born in Dub- 
lin, N. H., March 23, 1705. The father removed from 
Washington, N. H., about 1775, traded with Paul Hale for 
the Scott, now in part the McDowell, farm in Peterborough, 
and came there to reside. John Scott, the son, married 
his second cousin, Bethiah Ames, of Groton. During the 
war his father's family lived in Peterborough and Pepperell, 
Mass. He, John, bought from his father the Scott, now a 
part of the McDowell, farm, and was a resident of Peter- 
borough from the close of the war until his death and was 
one of the leading men of the town and active in its affairs. 
Was Selectman of the town in 1810, '11, '12, '14, '15, '16, 
'17 and 1818 — eight years, and Presidential Elector in 1840. 
He died December 27, 1847, aged 82 years. When his father 
received his Lieutenant's Commission in 1775, he sent for 
his son John to come to him and be his waiter. But later 
he entered the service as a regular soldier. 

Residence, Pepperell (also given Peterborough, N. H. and 
Boston). List of men probably raised for Continental ser- 
vice (year not given); residence, Boston; credited to the 
town of Attleborough ; also, private Captain Joseph Fox's 
company. Colonel Henry Jackson's (16th) regiment; Con- 
tinental Army pay accounts for service from July 24, 1777, 
to July 24, 1780 ; residence, Pepperell ; credited to the town 
of Attleborough; Also, Captain Fox's (7th) company, 
Colonel Jackson's regiment, — return dated Camp at Provi- 
dence, July 8, 1779 ; enlisted for town of Pepperell ; enlisted 
July 24, 1777; enlistment three years; on pay roll for July, 
1779 ; muster roll for October — 1779, — dated Camp Provi- 
dence; on regimental return made up to December 31, 1779, 



310 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

dated Camp at Providence; Also return certified at Camp 
near Morristown, April 30, 1780, of oflScers and men belong- 
ing to Colonel Lee's, Henley's and Jackson's regiments, 
of men belonging to Massachusetts in Colonel Henry Sher- 
burne's regiment, who were incorporated into a regiment 
under the command of Colonel Henry Jackson; agreeable to 
the arrangement of April 9, 1779; in Captain Fox's com- 
pany; rank, lifer; residence, Peterborough, N. H. ; engaged 
for town of Attleborough ; engaged July 24, 1777; terra, 
three years; reported reduced to private September 1, 1778; 
also Captain Fox's (Third) company; on pay roll for June 
and July, 1780; reported discharged, July 24, 1780. Mass. 
Rolls, Vol. XIII, 920. March 12, 1781, he enlisted into the 
Seventh Company of the Third Massachusetts Regiment, and 
served till December 18, 1783, when he was finally dis- 
charged. There are no existing rolls of this enlistment. 

His father was a Captain in the same regiment and 
resigned in 1781. He was but twelve years of age when 
he entered the service — one of the two youngest soldiers 
from Peterborough. 

Copies of the papers on file in his pension case at 
Washington are herewith given. They tell their own story : 

"I John Scott, of the County of Hillsboro, State of N. H., 
depose: That in July 1777, I entered into Capt. Scott's 
Company as Musician, for three years, and faithfully served 
said term, part of it as Musician, and part of it as a Private 
Soldier in the Regiment commanded by Col. H. Jackson in 
the Mass. Line Continental Service, and at the end thereof 
was honorably Discharged, as affirmed by the annexed 
Certificate. 

"That on the 12th day of March 1781, I enlisted again 
as Private Soldier for three ^ears more, and was attached 
to the 7th Company in the 3d Mass. Regiment, and I faith- 
fully served in the same time, as above mentioned, till De- 
cember 18th 1783, when I was again honorably Discharged, 
as may be seen by Certificate annexed, 

"I further depose that I am now advanced in life, have a 
large and expensive family, four of whom, from sickness 
and infirmity are unable to support themselves, and possess 



Personal and Military Sketches. 311 

a small property, but of income by no means equal to the 
necessary expenses. I have never received a Pension, and 
considering the circumstances, need assistance from my 
Country for support. 

(Signed) John Scott. 

October 28th 1818." 

Under the law of 1820 he was dropped from the rolls : 
"John Scott, aged 67, deposes that he was placed on the 
Pension List and afterwards dropped on account of prop- 
erty. States conditions of Schedule on which Pension was 
withdrawn : diminution of property, etc. 

Letter from Commissioner Edwards, in regard to ces- 
sation of Pension of John Scott : 

Property estimated at |2,286.67 

Debts estimated at 1,368.88 



1917.79 
Amount of property bars Pension. 

Schedule — Jan. 20 : 1820, True statement of all property. 
"My farm consists of about 110 acres, including a small 

appendage. 

"It will not rent for more than |100— Estimate. . .|1666.67 

Stock and Utensils— Estimate 300.00 

Note due from Daniel Eobbe 100.00 

Note due from Samuel Gates 220.00 

12286.67 
Debts as follows: 

Note due John Scott, Jr |500.00 

Note due Wm. Robbe 568.88 

Note due S. Jewett 300.00 |1368.88 

Balance— 1917.79 

"Wife infirm and dropsical, under physician's hands for 
more than sixteen years. Daughter, aged 23, from exist- 
ing conditions never has been and never can be able to care 
for herself. Two children of not sufQcient age nor strength 
to earn their support. 

"Owing to age and infirmity, I am unable to support my 
family by labor, and have no other means but the balance 
of the property stated above. 

(Signed) John Scott." 

Application to be restored to Pension List: 



312 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

"On this ITth day of February A. D. 1829, in the Court 
of Common Pleas, at Amherst, N. H., John Scott of Peter- 
boro, aged 65 years, doth on oath, make the following 
Declaration to obtain the benefit of the Act of Congress of 
March 18: 1818, and that of May 1st 1820. 

"That he enlisted for three years July 24: 1777, in the 
Company commanded by his Father, Capt, William Scott, 
Regiment commanded by Col. David Henly, in the Mass. 
Line, Continental Establishment. That he continued to 
serve in said Company and Regiment until the 2Uth day of 
July 1780, when he was regularly Discharged at Preak- 
ness, N. J. 

"That he, John Scott, afterwards enlisted for the term 
of three years, on March 12th 1781, and about May 1st was 
attached to the Company commanded by Capt. Carr, Regi- 
ment commanded by Col. Michael Jackson, the 8th Mass. 
Regt. That he continued to serve in said Regiment until 
Dec. 18: 1783, when he was regularly Discharged at West 
Point, N. Y. 

"That his name was placed on the Pension List, and 
dropped therefrom, and his Discharges were sent to the War 
OfiSce with his former Declaration. 

(Usual formula as to citizenship and diminution of 
property). 

"Nor have I any income other than contained in the 
Schedule annexed. 

(Signed) John Scott. 

February 17th 1829." 

"Schedule— February 16th 1829. 
Whole estate and income of John Scott of Peterboro, N. H. 
Application for Pension under Act of Congress of May 
1st 1820. 

Real estate 1500.00 

2 Cows 28.00 

1 Horse (4 years) 35.00 

1 Bureau 5.00 

1 Desk 2.00 

2 Tables 2.00 

1 Light-Stand 50 

2 Pairs Shovels and Tongs 2.00 

2 Looking-Glasses 3.00 

2 Pair Andirons 2.00 

1 Tea-kettle 40 



Personal and Military Sketches. 313 

1 Dinner-Pot 60 

1 Spider 25 

Crockery and GMass-ware 5.00 

1 Dozen Chairs 3.00 

1 Sleigh and Harness 15.00 

1603.75 
(Signed) John Scott." 

"Schedule— September 20th 1830. 

"We, the undersigned, requested by John Scott to ap- 
praise the following property, present the following 
schedule : 

18 Acres land (on Contoocook River) in 

Peterboro $132.15 

1 Horse 37.00 

1 Cow 11.00 

1 Yearling Heifer 5-00 

1 Hog 10.00 

1 Bureau 'J'.OO 

1 Desk 3.00 

7 Chairs 3.25 

1 Looking-Glass 1.50 

Hand Irons, Shovel and Tongs 4.00 

Pots and Kettles 1.50 

Crockery and Glass-ware 1.00 

1 Old Chaise 16.00 

2 Tables 2.83 

1 Clock 3.67 

1 Single Sleigh 15.00 

1256.90 
(Signed) 

J. H. Steele 
Thos. Payson 
Samuel Gates" 

Addenda to Schedule of Sept 20: 1830. 
"William Gray and Samuel Gates of Peterboro, testify 
that John Scott lost by Accident and Disease : 

Summer of 1823—1 Ox 

April 1824— ICow & 1 Hog 

June 1827—1 Horse & 1 Colt 

May 1828—1 Cow 



314 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

Estimated at— Ox $26.00 

Cow 16.00 

Hog 10.50 

Horse 85.00 

Colt 38.00 

Cow 25.00 



$200.50 
(Signed) William Gray" 

"Account of Debts — paid since 1820. 

Dec. 1816 — Borrowed of Reuben Robbe (see 

Bond in evidence) $401.00 

Feb. 1829 — Paid with 12 years interest (See 

Bond in evidence) 290.72 

$691.72 

Jan. 1818— Note to John Scott for $500.00 

Nov. 1827 — Paid with 6 years interest (See Depo- 
sition) 186.16 

$686.16 

Mar. 1822 — Paid Eleanor and William Allen (see 

Receipt) 22.00 

May 1823 — Paid Jane and E Farnsworth (see 

Receipt) 14.14 

June 1825 — Paid Daniel Allen (see Receipt) 12.14 

Jan. 1826 — Paid Sally Farnsworth (see Receipt) . . 8.00 

Mar. 1828 — Paid William Farnsworth (see Receipt), 8.56 

Apr. 1828— Paid Josiah Allen (see Receipt) 14.25 

1830 — PaidTimothy Farnsworth, for his Son 

(See Receipt) 9.07 

1830 — Paid Ingalls & Senter Note and Interest 

(see Receipt) 99.18 

June 1827— Loss of Horse and Colt 105.00 

1828— Loss of Cow 15.00 

$1677.53 

Schedule of Property on hand $257.40 

Difference between actual sale of farm and ap- 
praised value in 1820 468.00 

$2402.93 



Personal and Militanf Sketdkes. 315 

Added to the above, dshts dne snudrr indiTiduals pre- 
Tious to 1S20. amonnting to fiSOO or f4«X»." 

A pension was granted to his widow. Mar 8, 1849, to com- 
mence December 21, 1847. 

Thomas Scorrr- Son of WiUiam and Margaret (Gregg) 
Scott, and bom in Peterboron^ Angnst IS. 1752. Married 
Eunice Weekman. by whom he had a family of twelve chil- 
dren. Soon after the Revolution, he removed to Xova 
Sc-otia, and late in life returned to Peterborough- where ho 
died. May 25. 18:33. aged 81 years. 

Private in William Scott"s company which answered the 
Lexington Alarm, April 19, 1775. Service, three days. Ee- 
enlisted into the same company. Colonel Paul Dudley Sar- 
gent's regiment, April 23, 1775: discharged, December 31; 
service, eight months seven days. On return of the same 
c-ompany dated October 6. Ma*s. RolU. Vol. XIII, page 927. 
XT, 1-j9. Sergeant on roll of men serving for Stoddard in 
Captain Amos Morrill's c-ompany of Colonel Stark's (First 
yew H^amp^iireji regiment, enlisted for the war. XiT, 
46'.9. On return of Colonel Enoch Hale, acting under orders 
from the CV>mmittee of Safety, dated April. 1777, directing 
him to raise 119 men for the Contineaital Army out of his 
regiment of militia- Is among the men returned by town of 
Stoddard, under this levy, as being already in the service, 
in Captain Morrill's company. XZT, 57.5. Mustered Feb- 
ruary 20. 1777. and paid a bounty of £20. Is given as of 
Captain MorriU's company of Colonel John Stark's regi- 
ment. XrV, 602. Enlisted Jantiary L. 1777. Corporal and 
Sergeant on the rolls of the Second Company of Colonel 
Cilley's i First i Regiment, for service prior to January 1, 
1780. to make up the pay of the soldiers on account of the 
depreciation of the currency, and was paid $242.40. JT", 
112. On a similar roll of Second Company of the same 
regiment as Sergeant, for service in 1780. and was paid fl20. 
XTI, 19S. In establishing the Continental Army for 1781, 
New Hampshire's quota was 13-54 men. including those in 



316 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

service who liad enlisted for the war. The Legislature, by 
the law of January 12, 1781, enacted that the quota of each 
town should be raised within its limits, a provision subse- 
quently annulled, except that men might be hired, from 
such towns as had completed their quotas. The towns 
were to receive a bounty of £20 for each man accepted, to be 
paid in four years with six per cent, interest. On this call 
Thomas Scott enlisted into Captain Simon Sartwell's 
(Sixth) company of the First New Hampshire Regiment. 
The return is dated February 14, 1781. Kesidence given, 
I*eterborough ; rank. Sergeant. XVI 222. On roll of same 
company and regiment in 1781, and was paid $G1.4S. XVI, 
268. On Peterborough claim of men in service, residence 
given Stoddard. XVI, 517. See page 520. On return of 
men from Peterborough enlisted for the war, dated July 17, 
1781. Residence, Peterborough. XVI, 520 and 794. On 
Stoddard claim of men serving three years in the army, 
Was paid a town bounty of £30. XVI, 840. This refers 
to his service in Colonel Cilley's regiment for three 
years beginning in 1777. XVI, 841. See XVI, 520. Total 
service, six years, eight months. 

(A Thomas Scott, residence unknown, was in Captain 
Richard Lloyd's company of Colonel Moses Hazen's regi- 
ment in 1777; a three years' man. XVII, 293.) 



William Scott (Major). For his ancestry, date and 
place of birth and for his services in the French and Indian 
War, see ante, page 10. On hearing the news of the battle 
of Lexington, he abandoned his business and went to Cam- 
bridge with the other men from Peterborough. On his 
arrival there he immediately organized a company of minute 
men of which he was Captain. April 23d he recruited a full 
company of eight months' men, and was again commissioned 
Captain. This company was assigned to the regiment of 
Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent, who received his Colonel's 
commission from Massachusetts though himself a resident of 
Amherst, N. H. Captain Scott's name is on the pay roll of 



; Personal and Military Sketches. 317 

this regiment of August 1st, and also on a return of the 
company dated October 6, 1775. 3Iass. Rolls, Vol. XIII, 
929. N. H. State Papers, XV, 739. On the expiration of the 
enlistment of the men, December 31, 1775, he continued with 
the army under the rank of Captain, serving in various ca- 
pacities, and on detached duty until he was commmissioned 
Captain of the First Company of Colonel Joseph Cilley's 
(First) New Hampshire Regiment, November 7, 1776. 
(Commission dated November 8th. XVI, 2). XIV, 553. 
February 14, 1777, the Committee of Safety issued orders to 
him to recruit a company for Colonel Stark's regiment. N. 
E. Hist. Coll., Vol. VII, page 80. Promoted Major of same 
regiment, September 20, 1777. XVI, 2. On roll as Captain, 
dated Valley Forge, January 10, 1778, of absentees from 
Colonel Cilley's regiment XV, 431 See also XV, 456, 602, 
and XVI, 51. By the muster roll of William Bradford, 
Deputy Muster Master General, at Valley Forge, Scott's 
company, with himself as Captain, consisted of two lieu- 
tenants, three sergeants, three corporals, two drummers and 
fifers, 41 privates and one non-efifective ; twenty-six enlisted 
for the war and 32 for three years, in June, 1778. The fol- 
lowing month his company was composed of two lieutenants, 
two sergeants, three corporals, two drummers and fifers, 55 
privates and two non-effectives; twenty-one enlisted for the 
war. On roll as Captain and Major in Colonel Cilley's 
regiment for service prior to January 1, 1780, for equaliza- 
tion of soldiers' pay, on account of the depreciation of the 
currency, and was paid |1,326.60. XV, 710. On a similar 
roll for service in 1780, and was paid |725. XVI, 197. On 
roll of officers of First New Hampshire Regiment, Colonel 
Cilley's, in 1781, as Major and Brigade Major; amount of 
wages, |760. XVI, 267. And on rolls as Major in Colonel 
Scammel's regiment in 1780. XVI, 182. See XVII, 266, 441. 

"Head Quarters Moore's — House, Friday, 
November 5, 1779. 
"Major Scott of the New Hampshire line is appointed 



318 Peterborough m the Revolution. 

Brigade Major to General Poor's Brigade and is to be 
obeyed and respected accordingly." 

Extract from General's order, Edward Hand, A. G. C. 
XVII, 350. 

He was Major in command of a battalion in the Conti- 
nental service, in 1782. XVII, J/J,l. 

From the orderly book of General Greene : 

"April 5, 1776, Captain Scott of Colonel Sargent's Regi- 
ment, is appointed to officiate as Judge Advocate to the 
general Court-]Martial of which Colonel Sargent is Presi- 
dent." MassacJni setts Historical Collections, Vol. XVI, SJ^l. 
"May 14, 1776, A general Court-Martial to sit to-morrow 
morning at 10 o'clock at President's Chambers. Col. Whit- 
comb, President. Members from Col. AYhitcomb's: 

two Captains, four Subalterns; 
Members from Col. Sargent's: 

two Subalterns; 
Members from Col. Phinney's: 

one Captain, three Subalterns. 

Captain Scott, Judge Advocate." 
Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. XVI, 351. 

"June 3, 1776, A general Court-Martial to sit to-morrow 
morning, at niuQ o'clock, to try all such prisoners as may be 
brought before them. Col. Phinney, President; Captain 
Scott, Judge Advocate. 

"The Adjutant will give in the names of the members in 
season to the President, and notify the prisoners of their 
respective regiments." 

Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. XVI, 355. 

"June 17, 1776, (officer) for the dav to-morrow. 

Captain Scott." 
3Iass. Hist. Coll., Vol. XVI, 359. 

"July 17, 1776, General Orders by his Excellency Gen- 
eral Washington : 

"2. Captain Scott's and Captain Style's Companies 
from New Hampshire are to be incorporated or added to 
Col. Sergeant's Regiment, agreeably to the application made 
for that purpose." Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. XV, 118. 



Personal and Military Sketches. 319 

From a full account of his life and military services, 
prepared by his descendants and kindly loaned by William 
A Scott, Esq., of Fargo, North Dakota, the following facts 
are drawn: He came to this country about 1760, with his 
wife, Rosanna Tait (or Tate), of Scotland, whom he 
married in Ireland. He came directly to Peterborough, 
where his uncles resided, and soon after entered the army 
in the French and Indian War, as has been previously told. 
At the outbreak of the Revolution he was keeping store at 
Carter Corner in Peterborough. Upon hearing the news of 
the battle of Lexington, he cast his weights into bullets, 
raised a company of 60 men and started for Cambridge. 
Upon his arrival at the seat of war he was transferred to the 
First New Hampshire regiment,* commanded by Colonel 
John Stark, under General Putnam, and soon after was sent 
with his company to Hog Island, near Boston, and from 
there crossed to Noodley's Island and brought off a number 
of cattle and horses from under the enemy's fire. On the 
same evening a British armed schooner sent to annoy the 
American forces, was so harrassed by the musketry of the 
American fire that the men on it quit the decks, and the 
vessel drifted upon the ways of Winnesement Ferry, and the 
British barges were sent to extricate her. Captain Scott, 
with a party of soldiers under his command, waded into the 
water and mud under a brisk fire from the enemy, set the 
ship on fire and it was burned to the water's edge. Captain 
Scott brought off his men in safety. He commanded his 
company in the battle of Bunker Hill. In the engagement, 
Stark's regiment was opposed to the British Twenty-third — 
the famous royal Welsh Fusiliers, whose loss was so great 
that only one officer survived to tell the story. 

Upon the resignation of Colonel Stark, early in 1777, 
Joseph Cilley was appointed Colonel, and the organization 

* This is an error. Captain Scott's company was assigned to Col. Paul Dudley 
Sargent's (Mass.) regiment. It was never attached to Colonel Stark's regiment, 
unless temporarily at the battle of Bunker Hill. 



320 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

was thenceforth known as the First New Hampshire Regi- 
ment. This and the two other New Hampshire regiments 
were formed into a brigade under the command of General 
John Sullivan until the approach of Burgoyne in 1777. 
Captain Scott was re-commissioned in Colonel Cilley's regi- 
ment, November 7, 1776, and as long as he acted as a line 
oflBcer he was identified with it. With his regiment he 
served at Ticonderoga and vicinity until after the surrender 
of Burgoyne. He was in the retreat of the army when the 
fortress was abandoned, and in a skirmish at Bloody 
Pond, near the outlet of Lake George, commanded "the for- 
lorn hope." Ordered to abandon his position because the 
troops were not in readiness, he directed his men to retreat 
three paces backward, and then held his ground until the 
line of battle was formed. 

At the battle of Bemis Heights, September 19, 1777, he 
was in command of his company. During the action he was 
wounded in the hand, the ball entering his left hand near the 
thumb and passed slantways across the palm, cutting off 
the small bones and sinews of the hand. His little finger 
was amputated and when the wound healed the power of 
flexion and the extension of the fingers was almost totally 
destroyed. But the wound did not drive him from the field. 
Joseph Henderson, a Peterborough soldier, who was in the 
battle, stated in an affidavit made by him in Captain Scott's 
claim for pension, that on the evening of the same day he 
saw the Captain returning from the action with a number 
of prisoners, that his hand was then bleeding and his 
clothes were bloody The cry went up that Captain Scott 
was wounded, and the soldiers ran to him to see him and 
ascertain the extent of his injuries. The hand was prac- 
tically useless for the rest of his life. Tn this battle, Lieu- 
tenant-Colonels Adams and Colburn were killed, which 
opened the way to Captain Scott's promotion to Major, 
which took place on the following day. It does not appear 
from any rolls or family memorials that he was furloughed 
OP went to a hospital on account of his wounds. 



Personal and Military Sketches. 321 

He was in the battle of Monmouth (June 28th) in the 
following year. After the battle a mutiny broke out in one 
of the regiments; in endeavoring to quell it, Major Scott 
was stabbed by a bayonet thrust from one of the Pennsyl- 
vania Line, a soldier named McGonnegal, and severely 
wounded. This wound was on his back in the vicinity 
of the loins, the bayonet penetrating to the lumbar vertebra. 
Examining surgeons found the marks of it on his person 
thirty years later. The soldier was court-martialed and 
sentenced to be shot, but was pardoned by General Washing- 
ton upon the application of Major Scott. In August and 
September, 1779, he was with his regiment under General 
Sullivan in an expedition against the Indians. A battle 
was fought near where Elmira, New York, now is, on the 
29th of August. The Indians were commanded by Brandt 
and the Tories by Colonels Butler and Johnson. After a 
fight lasting two hours the enemy were defeated. In this 
engagement Major Scott, in a personal encounter with an 
Indian chief, secured his long rifle which was handsomely 
mounted with silver, and brought it off the field as a trophy. 
It is now in the possession of one of his descendants. He 
served on a court-martial, of which Colonel Greaton was 
President, at Newburgh, New York, in December, 1782, and, 
about the same time, with two others, Lieutenant-Colonel 
Dearborn and Major Morriel, was requested to settle the 
question of rank between Ensigns Adams, Mason and Bacon. 
In March, 1783, he was acting Commander of his regiment, 
the First New Hampshire, and at Princeton, on October 10, 

1783, was made Lieutenant-Colonel by brevet. He retired 
from the army when his regiment was dissolved in January, 

1784, after eight years and eight months' hard service, hav- 
ing thirty-six battle scars upon his person, and after having 
participated in every campaign and battle in which his 
regiment was engaged throughout the whole long struggle. 
He was noted for his coolness and intrepid courage and for 
his humane disposition, earning the title of "The Fighting 
Major." Both of his hands, said his grandson who remem- 

22 



322 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

bered him, were so drawn and misshapen by wounds that 
they resembled bird claws rather than human hands, and he 
was disabled from manual labor for the remainder of his 
life. 

On his retirement from the army he took with him his 
brigade books, chest and camp equipage, and went to Al- 
bany, or Schenectady, New York. He never returned to 
Peterborough after the war. His sword was deposited in the 
Masonic Lodge, to which he belonged, in Greenfield, New 
York, and his books and papers are, or recently were, in tlie 
possession of a grandson in Philadelphia. He disposed of 
his horse and equipments by the following letter: 

"Albany, Nov. 13th, 1783. 
Sir: 

"I send my horse and saddle and bridle, by Mr. Connelly. 
If you are not supplied he is at your service at your owti 
price. If you do not need him please dispose of him, and 
whatever your trouble may be, I will endeavor to reward 
you. Enclosed is one of (Col.) Beadle's certificates which 
if you can convert to any use will add to the many obliga- 
tions I have already experienced. 

I am Sir, your etc 

William Scott. 

P. S. Please present my compliments of this family to 
John. Mrs. Scott and Mrs. Betsey present their best com- 
pliments to you and hope to see you in a few days. 

Lieutenant Thomas Blake, West Point." 

Kiddei^s History, First N. H. Regiment, page 108. 

His commissions were as follows: Captain New Hamp- 
shire company, April, 1775; company attached to Colonel 
Paul Dudley Sargent's Massachusetts regiment, July 17, 
1775; Captain Sixteenth Continental Infantry, January 1, 
177G; Captain First New Hampshire, Colonel Cilley's regi- 
ment, November 7, 1776; Major, September 20, 1777. His 
commission as Major was dated August 13, 1781, but his 
rank was to date from September 20, 1777. His commission 
as Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel was dated October 10, 1788, 
but was to take effect from October 10, 1783. 



Personal and Military Sketches. 323 

He applied for a pension in October, 1792. His petition 
to Congress is a pathetic statement of his sufferings and 
sacrifices for the Colonial cause and demands insertion here, 
as much for what he did in the war as an illustration of the 
distress and hardships the Revolutionary soldiers suffered 
after the struggle closed. He says : 

"It was with particular pain your Petitioner was obliged 
to address your August body in New York, January 17th, 
constrained thereto from motives of misfortune and dis- 
tress. He has struggled with difficulties year after year in 
hopes that each would be the last, but has been disappointed 
and finds his embarrassments thicken and become more 
complex; in the exigency he is again compelled to apply for 
relief. 

"That he is among that class whose hardships are ex- 
ceedingly disproportionate to any other Citizens of America. 
Let recurrence be had to the final settlement with the Army 
Invalids, unfit to return to their usual labor to support 
themselves and families, debts necessarily contracted must 
be paid ; those securities the only resource ; of which to dis- 
charge a debt of one pound required eight. This or a Goal 
was the only alternative; the former has been preferred by 
every person of honesty. 

"That the Commutation under such circumstances was 
an adequate compensation for eight years hard service (to 
those who have been so unfortunate as to have lost the use 
of their limbs and have their constitution ruined) cannot 
be supposed; at best it only leaves them upon a footing with 
those who never received a wound and what is still worse is 
to exist as objects of obliquy in the vicinity of those unprin- 
cipled men who deserted and bore arms against their 
Country and are now enabled through the Liberality of their 
Master to live in splendor and affluence: while many of 
those who aided in conquering them are suffering under the 
most distressing penury. 

"That your Petitioner havincr received several wounds in 
defense of the Country humbly submits the premises to the 
consideration of your Honorable Body, not doubting but his 
peculiar situation will entitle him to relief." 

The application failed, and it was not till 1807 that a 
pension (of $25 a month) was finally allowed him under the 
Act of Congress of April 10, 1806. 



324 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

He w^ent from the army directly to Schenectady, New 
York, where he opened a general store, remaining there 
through 1784, 1785 and part of 1786. In the spring of the 
latter year he removed to Milton (now Greenfield), Sara- 
toga County, New York, and for the rest of his life was a 
farmer, though disabled from manual labor. Here he lo- 
cated on land lying between two creeks, built his log cabin 
and planted the first orchard in the township. He remained 
here until 1792, when he sold out and removed to another 
lot situate about a mile to the westward, afterwards known 
as the "Scott Homestead." The township was formed under 
the name of Greenfield, in 1793. When the "Society for the 
Promotion of Useful Learning" was organized in Greenfield 
in 1797, he was chosen its first President, and his son John, 
the Revolutionary soldier, its first Secretary. His first wife, 
married in Ireland, was Rosanna Tait (or Tate), and his 
second, married about 1790, was Charity Gil Hard. His two 
children, both born in Peterborough, John and Lewis, were 
by his first wife. John was with his father in the army, and 
the second was cared for in the town of Athol, Mass., while 
the father was in the army. TMien he went to Schenectady, 
at the close of the war, both children went with him. He 
was of a kindly disposition, generous to a fault, interested 
in public affairs, and fond of having his army comrades 
about him. He died at Greenfield, N. Y., in 1815, aged 71 
years, and was buried with full Masonic honors on the very 
spot where, with his comrades, he slept the first night of his 
arrival in the wilderness which was to be his future home, 
in the Bailey Cemetery, Greenfield, New York. 



Captain William Scott. For sketch of his ancestry 
and services in French and Indian War, see ante, page 11. 

He assisted his cousin. Major William Scott, in recruit- 
ing a company of men, arriving at Cambridge April 20, 1775, 
and was commissioned its first Lieutenant, with his cousin 
as Captain, April 23, 1775. Was in the battle of Bunker 
Hill, June 17, 1775, and severely wounded. Mass Rolls, Yol. 



Personal and Military SketcTies. 325 

XIII, 929. The following details of his experience in the 
battle and subsequently are taken from Morison's Centen- 
nial address: 

"He was wounded (XIV, 4^) by a musket ball just below 
the knee early in the action. He continued coolly paring 
musket balls and handing them to his soldiers. He was 
among the very hindmost to retreat, w'hen he received in his 
thigh and the lower part of his body four additional balls, 
and bleeding at nine oreflces, fainted upon the field. When 
he came to himself, a British Soldier was standing over 
him, with his bayonet, and asked him with an oath if he did 
not deserve to be killed. 'I am in your power,' was the 
reply, 'and you can do with me as you please.' He was 
rescued by a British Officer, and permitted to remain un- 
molested on the field through the night. The next morning 
he was taken to Boston and thence to Halifax, Where he was 
imprisoned. On June 19, 1776, with a gimlet, a bayonet and 
an old knife furnished by a friend without (John Morison, 
Esq., a brother of Thomas and Jonathan Morison), he and 
six of his companions broke the prison, and by the help of 
that same friend, got on board a vessel and reached Boston 
on the 19th of the following August. He immediately 
joined the American Army on Long Island, was taken with 
two thousand others at the Capture of Fort Washington, 
November 16, 1776. The night after the surrender, tying his 
sword to the back of his neck, and his watch to his hat-band, 
he swam a mile and a half to Fort Lee on the New Jersey 
shore, eluding the vigilance of the British frigates stationed 
there to guard the prisoners." Pages 292, 293, History of 
Peterborough. 

The Boston Gazette and Country Journal, under date of 
July 29, 1776, publishes the following announcement of his 
arrival in Boston : 

"Last Tuesday evening, came to the town from Halifax, 
Lieutenant Scott of Peterborough in New Hampshire govern- 
ment, who was wounded and taken Prisoner at the memor- 
able Battle of Bunker Hill, the 17th of June 1775, and has 
been a Prisoner ever since. He informs that he with 13 
others broke Coal about 5 weeks ago, and betook them- 
selves to the woods Where they separated; that Captain 
Martindale and his first and second Lieutenants, John 



326 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

Brown, Riflemen, Leonard Briggs of Wares (Wareham) and 
himself arrived at Tours at the head of Cobecut river after 
a travel of 3 days, where they procured a boat and got to 
the eastward; that Richard Carpiuter formerly Barber in 
this town; I'hilip Johnson, David Kemp of Groton and 
Corporal Cruse of Virginia and two others took the road to 
Windsor where they were apprehended and confined in irons 
that Benjamin Willson of Billerica one of the Bunker Hill 
Prisoners died lately in goal ; and that he left Master James 
Lovell still confined in high health and spirts/' — Proceed- 
ings, Mass. Hist. Society, Vol. J^S, page 98. 

A Captain in Colonel Joseph North's regiment stationed 
at Tiverton, R. I.; pay abstract for mileage, etc., from 
Tiverton home, due several companies in said regiment, 
dated Boston, March 24, 1777. Said Scott's company of 41 
men were allowed 255 miles each as mileage; also Captain 
in Colonel Henry Jackson's regiment. On Continental 

Army pay accounts for service from January 1, 1777, to 

Reported made up by the State of New Hampshire to De- 
cember 31, 1779, by his own account. 

Appointed (Captain) January 1, 1777, also Captain, 
Colonel David Henley's regiment; returns of officers for 
clothing, dated Boston, May 25, 1778, and at Camp Paw- 
tuxet, October 10, 1778; also, same regiment; pay abstract 
for October, 1778; order for payment of amount of abstract 
dated at Headquarters Providence, and signed by Major 
General Gates; also same regiment pay roll for November, 
1778 ; also same regiment ; pay abstracts for December, 1778, 
February and March, 1779; orders for payment of amounts 
of abstracts dated at Headquarters at Providence and signed 
by Major General Gates; also Captain Fourth Company, 
Colonel Henry Jackson's regiment; muster roll of field, staff 
and commissioned ofiicers for April, 1779, dated at Pawtuxet ; 
reported furloughed by Colonel Jackson, April 18, 1779; 
return of field, staff and commissioned officers for clothing, 
dated Camp Castle Island, September 23, 1779 ; also Captain 
Light Infantry company. Colonel Jackson's regiment; pay 
roll for October, 1779; regimental return made up to De- 



Personal and Military Sketches. 327 

cember 31, 1779, dated at Camp Providence; Continental 
pay accounts for service from January 1, 1780, to December 
31, 1780; also on return certified at Camp near Morris- 
town, April 30, 1780, of officers and men in Colonels Lee's, 
Henley's and Jackson's regiments and men belonging to 
Massachusetts in Colonel Henry Sherburne's, which were in- 
corporated into a regiment agreeably to an arrangement 
dated April 9, 1779 ; rank, Captain ; residence, Peterborough, 
N. H. Appointed January 1, 1777; on pay rolls for April, 
to July, 1780. Alass. Bolls, Vol. XIII, 929, 930. 

In the Massachusetts printed rolls the record of Captain 
William Scott is confused with the record of Major William 
Scott, of Colenel Cilley's (N. H.) regiment. 

He is on a roll of New Hampshire men in Colonel Henry 
Jackson's regiment; rank. Captain, commissioned January 
1, 1777. XV, 427. Also on a roll of officers in Colonel 
Alexander Scammel's (Third) New Hampshire Regiment to 
equalize the pay of soldiers on account of the depreciation 
of the currency for service prior to January 1, 1780, and 
was paid |1096. XV, 726. On roll of New Hampshire men 
in Colonel Jackson's regiment. XVI, 5455, 303. The pres- 
ence of Captain Scott's name on the roll of those of other 
New Hampshire soldiers serving in Massachusetts regi- 
ments was probably the result of an agreement or under- 
standing between the two States, with the War Department. 
He is probably the William Scott' commissioned by General 
Washington, early in 1777, to return to New Hampshire and 
raise a company for a regiment of rangers, commanded by 
Colonel Guest of Virginia. In executing this task he pe- 
titioned the General Assembly as follows : 

"Humbly Sheweth 
"That whereas, your Petitioner is appointed by his 
Excellency General Washington to raise a Company in a 
Regiment of Rangers of which Col. Guest of Virginia is 
commander and your Petitioner not being allowed by orders 
to give more than the Continental bounty when other sol- 
diers in this State are entitled to Twenty Pounds over and 
above that which greatly retards the Progress of Inlisting. 



328 Peterhorough in the Revolution. 

"Therefore, your Petitioner humbly begs your Honors, to 
take this matter under consideration and give me an equal 
chance with other officers in the State by granting the same 
bounty to Kangers as given to the Soldiers inlistiug in the 
service of this State; and your Petitioner as in duty bound 
shall ever pray. 

William Scott. 
Peterborough, March 8, 1777." XIII, 181. 

To this petition the Committee reported on June 10, 1777, 
"That having considered the same, they cannot think of any 
probable method of raising his Company, but what will be 
attended with insuperable difficulties. Yet considering the 
great sufferings of Captain William Scott in the cause of his 
Country and the losses and disappointments he has met with, 
beg leave to suggest whether some gratuity might not 
consistently be made by this State." But the Assembly 
voted, "not to give any State Bounty to said Captain Scott's 
Company." Yol Till, page 586, State Papers. 

On July 29, 1779, in records of Committee of Safety : 

"Capt. William Scott of Peterboro' in this State belong- 
ing to Col. Henry Jackson's Regt. in Continental service, 
appearing before the comtt«3e & produced a list of the officers 
& Men belonging to this State, who are serving in s^ Regt; 
also, a Resolve of Congress importing that those officers & 
Men should be recon'd as a part of the Quota of this State — 
praying for some Relief on acct of the Depreciation of the 
Currency etc." * 

and on the next day it was 

"Ordered the R. G. to pay to Captain William Scott £828 
to be accounted for, viz, 800 Doll, on his own account & 500 
Dol. to be pd Lt. Nesmith & 50 dollars to each man in Col. 
Henry Jackson's Regt belonging to this State." — N. H. His- 
torical Collections, Vol. VII, page 198. 

He resigned from the army some time in 1781 (see 
letter of John Scott), and entered the navy, serving on the 
frigate "Deane" as a volunteer, Samuel Nicholson, com- 
mander, until nearly the end of the war. Volunteered for 
this service February 23, 1782, to May 31, 1782— nearly 
eight years in all. 



Personal and Military Sketches. 329 

After the war he settled in Groton, Mass., and subse- 
quently removed to Litchfield, New York. He was a man 
of great coolness and courage. In the Boston Independent 
Chronicle of July 12, 1792, is the following incident illus- 
trating the heroism of the man. After describing in general 
terms a terrific tempest of the day before and some of the 
incidents caused by it, the paper adds: "Since writing the 
above account, we further learn that a boat from this City 
to the Jersey Shore was overset within fifty rods of Samuel 
Cowper's wharf. There was in the boat Captain Scott, Mr. 
Blake, his wife and four small children, a young woman and 
Mr. Betis — in all nine persons — none of whom could swim 
but Captain Scott. The Captain, by the most astonishing 
and praiseworthy exertions was able, providentially, to save 
them all. He swam ashore with one child hanging to his 
neck and one to each arm, and he returned to the boat 
amidst the boisterous waves raging in a furious and fright- 
ful manner, and brought the others, who had, with much 
diflficulty held by the boat, safe to land." — From Moi-ison's 
Centennial Address, History of Peterborough, page 293. 

In 1793 he went in the suite of General Lincoln to make 
a treaty with the Six Nations at or near Sandusky, where 
his health was impaired. In 1796 he was connected with a 
party surveying lands on the Black River, near Lake Erie 
and the smaller lakes. They were attacked by lake fever, 
and he returned with a division of the sick to Fort Stanwix. 
Finding it diflflcult to procure anyone to go back after the 
sick persons left behind in the wilderness, he determined to 
go himself, though strongly dissuaded by the physician that 
he could not return alive. "I think I shall," was his reply, 
"but if not, my life is not better than theirs." He suc- 
ceeded in his attempt, but died ten days after his return at 
Litchfield, N. Y., September 19, 1796, in his fifty-fourth 
year. — From Morison's Centennial Address, in History of 
Peterborough, page 294- 

A letter of his son, John Scott, written in 1829, throws 
much further light on his military career. The following 



330 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

is a copy saving incidents of his life set forth above. It 
is taken from the Peterborough Transcript of May 18, 1893 : 

''Peterborough, June 20, 1829. 
Hon. Isaac Hill, Concord, N. H. 

''Dear Sir: My friend Steele advises me to write and give 
you a particular account of the part my father and myself 
took in the Revolutionary War, which 1 will endeavor to do to 
the best of my recollection. My father, then living in Peter- 
borough, N. H., on the memorable 19th of April, 1775, was 
on a journey in Groton, Mass., when the alarm was given, 
tlew to the defence of his country, but overtook the enemy 
only in time to give them a shot as they were crossing 
Charlestown Ferry. 

''When the men from this vicinity arrived in the vicinity 
of Boston they formed themselves into a company and chose 
their officers. My father was chosen first Lieutenant. He 
immediately sent home for me to be his waiter. I joined the 
army about the first of May. We were then in Col. Stark's 
regiment. On the evening of the lOth of June my father 
was called on duty to go and intrench on Bunker's Hill. 
In the forenoon of the 17th my father in attempting to op- 
pose the enemy's landing, had one of his legs broken by a 
grape shot. He retreated back on to the hill where he con- 
tinued to fight and encourage his men and when he could 
stand no longer he sat and with his pocket knife pared the 
bullets to fit their guns until the enemy was within a few 
jards of him when he attempted to retreat, but receiving 
four more balls through his body and limbs, fainted with 
loss of blood, fell and made prisoner; lay on the field till 
the next day bleeding at nine orifices, when he was carried 
into Boston and partially cured of his wounds. We sup- 
posed for several weeks he was dead. When the enemy 
evacuated Boston he was carried in irons to Halifax, Nova 
Scotia, where he was kept in close prison until July, 1776, 
when with six or eight others, principally through his means, 
broke their prison by undermining, made their escape and 
arrived in Boston about the 20th of xVugust, 177(5. 

"He staid at home no longer than to fit himself suitable 
to join his regiment, which he did in the city of New York in 
September, 177G. When the Americans retreated from New 
York he was in the division of the Ami}' that had the defense 
of Fort Washington. The fort surrendered and he was 
again made prisoner on the 18th day of November 1770. In 



Personal and Military Sketches. 331 

the night after the fort surrendered, not liking to undergo 
another fifteen months' captivity, trusting in God and his 
own exertions he again made his escape by swimming the 
Hudson River, and arrived safe on the Jersey Shore, though 
very nearly exhausted. To clear the frigate that lay otf the 
fort he had to swim twice the width of the river. In the 
beginning of the year 1777 my father took a Captain's com- 
mission with Col. David Henley's regiment, afterwards com- 
manded by Col. Henry Jackson of Boston, in the Massachu- 
setts line, and enlisted my elder brother and self as mu- 
sicians. The term of our enlistment was for three years 
or during the war. 

''I will here notice two occurrences that took place while 
he was in the land service. First, in the year 1777, his com- 
mand being at Boston he was at home in New Hampshire 
on furlough, or recruiting, and General Burgoyne was mak- 
ing his way through the country. He with his neighbors 
in Peterborough repaired to the northern army, and was 
the identical captain spoken of by Gordon in his history of 
the American War, Yol. II, page 512, who found out and cut 
off the retreat of the Tories and Canadians through the 
woods when Burgoyne was about to surrender. Second, in 
the battle of Rhode Island, he with a few brave fellows 
charged and took a British field piece, and not being able to 
bring it off, oi^ened the cartridge boxes with his sword cut 
the cartridges, threw the powder on the ground and re- 
treated with the loss of two men only. 

"He served till the spring of 1781, and being in the 
Marquis De Lafayette's division of light infantry, which 
was about to march to Virginia, and his wounds rendering 
him unable to perform so long a march, he resigned his 
commission and returned home and immediately entered on 
the Deane frigate as a volunteer, and served to the close of 
the war. 

"At the close of the war he settled with the country, 
received his commutation, arrearages of pay, etc., in public 
securities, and supposing he had something he might depend 
on bought a farm in Groton, IMassachusetts, which he ex- 
pected to pay for with part of his securities, and a part, with 
intent to save them until they were worth something, he 
lent to a brother officer to pawn for goods to trade on. The 
securities that he expected to pay for the farm depre- 
ciated so that he was not able to pay for his farm, and he 
lost what he had paid. The man to whom he lent his securi- 



332 Peterborough i/n the Revolution. 

ties failed and he lost every cent, and with a large family 
was reduced to poverty. About this time, 1789 and 1790, 
my mother died and left him witli a large family of chil- 
dren, four under seven years of age. Being wholly unable 
to support them, his friends advised him to petition to be 
placed on the invalid pension roll, which he did, first the 
State of Massachusetts and then the General Government, 
where owing to the unsettled state of affairs between tlie 
state and General Government he danced attendance until 
sometime in 1794. After being obliged to return his com- 
mutation he was placed on the pension roll at |20 per month, 
but enjoyed it but about a year and a half. lie died Sep- 
tember 19th, 1796, at Litchfield. N. Y. 

''General Knox, the then Secretary of War, who knew 
his merits, was disposed to accommodate him as much as 
possible, and appointed him to the office of deputy store- 
keeper at West Point in 1791. In 1795 he was appointed an 
ofiicer in the suite of General Lincoln, who was sent by the 
government to make a treaty of peace and friendship with 
the six nations of Indians at Detroit, Sandusky, etc., where 
being so much on the fresh lakes, he lost his health, and died 
the following year and left his pension to his country and 
his children to me. I must here observe that in 1790, being 
destitute of a home or means to provide for his children, he 
brought the three youngest, all under six years of age, and 
requested me to take care of them until he returned (being 
about to set out for Philadelphia to press his claim on the 
government), and if he was ever able he would reward me. 
1 promised to do my best, and I now feel a consolation that I 
performed my promise to the best of my ability ; but I never 
saw him afterwards nor ever received one cent. He had 
received money from the government before he died, but the 
expense of living and returning his commutation had so 
embarrassed him that I presume other creditors beside my- 
self were unpaid at his death. 

''I omitted to state in its proper place that after ray 
father's captivity at Fort Washington he came home and 
sold his farm at Peterborough and took a note payable at a 
future day. When he received his pay it would not pay for 
the horse he lost at Fort Washington. 

"My father could do no more for his country than he did. 
He sold and lost his property; he devoted himself and his 
sons to service. My elder brother died in the sixth year of 
his service, of the camp fever as it was called, the 6th day 



Personal and Military Sketches. 333 

of October, 1782. The services of my father, my brother and 
myself made an aggregate of more than twenty years. 

"There was an occurrence took place in Philadelphia, in 
1792, while my father was there, that will set his character 
in a strong light. I cannot describe it so well as to send 
you a slip cut from a newspaper of the day, which I enclose. 
Where were his own infants at the same time? I forbear to 
comment other than to say that in the year 1792-93, being out 
of health and my corn cut by frost, I wrote to my father 
stating my distress and expressing doubts whether I should 
be able to get along with his family and my own without 
assistance. He wrote me an answer in which he pitied my 
case and said he could not help me at that time, and re- 
minded me that I lived in a land of law and humanity, and if 
I could not find means to provide for the children until he 
could do it himself and remunerate me for what I had done, 
I must hand them over to the selectmen of the town. My 
pride was wounded. I never complained afterwards, but 
brought them up and educated them as my own. The 
youngest, a boy, served his country in the last war as boat- 
swain under Commander Chauncy on the lakes, and died in 
the navy at New Orleans about 1818. 

"I am aware that my feeling have carried me to an un- 
reasonable length, but I know that you will pity and excuse 
my weakness. Every word I have written can be proved by 
substantial living witnesses or authentic documents. 
Your mucb obliged and obedient servant, 

John Scott." 



William Scott. One of the earliest settlers of Peter- 
borough and the first to purchase a lot of land from the 
proprietors. He came to town in 1739, but did not remain, 
probably leaving in 1744 with the other settlers, returning 
about 1750. He was born in Ireland in 1713, and came to 
this country in 1734, settling in Hopkinton, Mass., where he 
lived two years. He probably lived in Lancaster, Mass., 
before going to New Ipswich, as on March 13, 1740, "William 
Scott entered his intention of marriage with Margaret Gregg 
of Lundon Dery March 13th, 1740." — Lancaster Records. 
Four of his children were born, perhaps in Hopkinton 
(though there is no such record), to which place he is sup- 



334 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

posed to have returned when he left Peterborough in 1744, 
but the four youngest were born in Peterborough. He 
signed the Association Test in 177G. Served in French and 
Indian War. See ante, page 10. 

Enlisted into Captain Alexander Robbe's company which 
answered the Ticonderoga Alarm, June 29, 1777; discharged, 
July 3d. Service, five days. Wages, £4 10s Od. Pay and 
travel, £1 15s lOfZ. XV, 101. Enlisted into Captain 
Edmund Briant's company of Colonel Daniel Moore's regi- 
ment which marched from New Ipswich to join the Ameri- 
can Army at Stillwater, September 28, 1777; discharged, 
October 25th ; service, 28 days. Wages, £4 10s Od per month. 
Total pay and travel, £6 19s 'Od XY, 357. He died in 
Peterborough, November 20, 1795, aged 82 years. He was 
64 years old when he entered the service, and had three 
sons in the army — David, Thomas and William, Jr. 



William Scott^ Jr. Was the son of William and Mar- 
garet (Gregg) Scott, born in Peterborough, January 8, 
1756. Settled on the homestead of his father just west of 
the General James Wilson place. Married, first wife, 
Catherine Ames, who died June 5, 1808, and was the mother 
of all his children; second wife, Dorcas Pulcifer, whom he 
married April 24, 1815. He was a cripple the last thirty 
years of his life, and died October 10, 1829, aged 73 years. 
Hon. James Scott, late of Peterborough, was his youngest 
son. 

Private in Captain William Scott's company which 
answered the Lexington Alarm, April 20, 1775. Discharged, 
April 23d; service, three days. Re-enlisted into the same 
company in Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment, April 
23, 1775; discharged, December 31st; service, eight months, 
seven days. On return of same company dated October 6th. 
Receipted for bounty coat, or its equivalent in money, No- 
vember 14, 1775. Mass. Rolls, ToL XIII. 929. N. H. State 
Papers, XV, 739. On descriptive list of men raised in 
Middlesex County, to reinforce the Continental Army, for 



Personal and Military Sketches. 335 

the term of nine months, agreeable to (Mass.) Resolve of 
April 20, 1778. Age, 19 years; stature, five feet, six inches; 
residence, Peterborough, N. H. Engaged for town of Town- 
send, Mass. Enlisted April 28, 1778. XV, 754. On list of 
men raised in Middlesex County for term of nine months 
form the time of their arrival in Fishkill, New York. Ar- 
rived at Fishkill, June 19, 1778. Private in Captain Josiah 
Smith's company. Colonel Thomas Marshall's regiment. 
Muster-roll dated West Point, January, 1779. Enlisted 
June 19, 1778, for nine months (same service as above). 
mass. Rolls, Vol. XIII, page 929. On roll of Captain 
Joseph Parker's company, Colonel Isaac Wyman's regiment, 
raised out of Colonel Enoch Hale's regiment of militia in 
1776, Joined the Northern Army at Ticonderoga. Mustered 
and paid, July 18, 1776. Paid bounty, £6, one month's pay, 
£3 18s. Travel, £0 4s. Total, £10 2s. Length of service not 
stated. XIV, 333. Discharged, December 1, 1776. 

(A William Scott served for Peterborough Slip, or New 
Ipswich, more than three years. See XIV, 91, 201, 622; XV, 
1122; XVI, 5U, 518, 76Jf, and XVII, 291. This man was 
born in Dunstable; residence, New Ipswich. The rolls say 
"Peterborough Slip"). 



Michael Silk. Nothing is known of him except wbat 
appears in the military rolls. He is on a roll of men in 
Colonel Joseph Cilley's First New Hampshire regiment in 
1776. Enlisted for the war. Served for the town of Peter- 
borough. XIV, 468. A note to this roll says: "The towns 
they Came from is very uncertain." On a return of men for 
the town of Jaffrey raised under an order of the Committee 
of Safety to Colonel Enoch Hale, April, 1777, directing him 
to recruit out of his regiment of militia 119 men for the 
Continental Army. XIV, 576. The town of Jaffrey voted 
|100 bounty to every man serving under this call. See 
Cutter's History of Jaffrey. On a roll of men claimed by 
Jaffrey as serving to its credit, and enlisted for three years, 
or during the war. Enlisted in 1778. XVI, 699. He is on 



336 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

a roll of men enlisted in 1776 for the war. XIV, J/GS. In 
Kidder's History of First New Hampshire Regiment, he is 
represented as enlisting July 23, 1777, and is reported as a 
deserter. These different statements about him cannot be 
reconciled. 

"(Soldiers' Receipt Valley Forge). 

"We the Subscribers do acknowledge that each of us have 
rec'd of Colonel Joseph Cilley the sum of twenty pounds 
Lawful Money in full for our bounty from the State of New 
Hampshire, and that we have received no bounty from said 
State heretofore, and likewise do acknowledge we have given 
a duplicate of this rec't. — 

(Signed) Michael Silk (and six others). 

Camp Valley Forge April 27, 1778." 

XV, 653. 

Receipted for |25 paid by the State of New Hampshire in 
part payment of the money advanced by the State for the 
soldiers, dated February 7, 1781. In Captain Dustin's com- 
pany. XVI, 239. Probably this was for another enlist- 
ment. On a pay roll to equalize the wages of soldiers on 
account of the depreciation of the currency for service prior 
to January 1, 1780, of Captain William Scott's company of 
Colonel Cilley's regiment, and was paid |159.30. XV, 111. 
On a similar roll of the same company and regiment for 
service in 1780, and was paid |80. XVI, 198. On a return 
of men in Captain Moody Dustin's company in First New 
Hampshire Regiment, dated February 13, 1781, and was 
paid |25. XVI, 239. Reported as belonging to "Saratoga," 
and serving for "Jaffrey." XVI, 223. On a pay roll of 
First Company of First New Hampshire Regiment in 1781 ; 
wages due |80. XVI, 267. Claimed by Jaffrey. XVI, 509, 
699. When the New Hampshire regiments were consoli- 
dated in 1781, he continued in service, and was in the army 
in 1782, and perhaps until the close of the war. He served 
at least six years. There is no trace of him after the Revo- 
lution. If he ever deserted, it is apparent from the records 
that he rejoined his regiment. If living in 1790, he was not 
a resident of the State. 



Personal and Military Sketches. 337 

David Smiley. Was of Scotch-Irish descent and was the 
son of John Smiley, and was born in Haverhill, Mass., April 
10, 1760. He came to Peterborough in 1782, and remained 
two years. He then removed to Alstead, N. H., but two 
years later returned to Peterborough, where he remained 
till his death, on October 3, 1855, at the age of 95 years. He 
married Rachel Johnson, of Haverhill, August 22, 1782. Dr. 
Smiley learned the trade of shoemaker, which calling he 
followed until 1793, when he began the study of medicine 
with Dr. Stephen Jewett, of Eindge, beginning practice at 
the same time. He followed this profession until 1842, when 
he was compelled to retire on account of the infirmities of 
age. He was also a lay preacher of the Baptist denomina- 
tion, occupying a pulpit in Bennington for many years, and 
also preaching in Hillsborough. He was a worthy, useful 
man, and highly respected by all who knew him. 

On December 19, 1777, he enlisted into Captain Nathaniel 
Gage's company of Colonel Jacob Gerrish's regiment of 
guards. Discharged, April 3, 1778. The company was 
stationed at Winter Hill, near Boston, guarding the British 
prisoners taken at Saratoga. Service, three months, 17 days. 
He is on the descriptive list of men raised to serve in the 
Continental Army for nine months from the date of their 
arrival in Fishkill, N. Y. Enlisted April, 1778. Arrived in 
Fishkill, June 18, 1778. Assigned to Captain Eaton's com- 
pany of Colonel Johnson's regiment. Description list is: 
Age, 19 years; stature, five feet, four inches; complexion, 
light; residence, Haverhill, Mass. He is also on a roll of 
men returned by Colonel R. Putnam, dated July 20, 1778. 
Also on a roll of men mustered by Henry Rutgers, Jr., 
Deputy Muster Master, dated August 1, 1778. Discharged 
the following March, after about nine months' service. He 
was a private in Captain Stephen Webster's company of 
Colonel Jacob Gerrish's (Mass.) regiment. Enlisted October 
14, 1779 ; discharged, November 22, 1779. Term, one month, 
nine days. Discharged at Claverack, N. Y., and allowed 

23 



338 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

for 220 miles travel home. This regiment was raised in 
Suffolk and Essex Counties (Mass.) to reinforce the army 
under General Washington. The following year he was 
again in service. Enlisted into Captain Jonathan Ayer's 
company of Colonel Nathaniel Wade's regiment, raised in 
Essex County, to reinforce General Washington's army, 
July 15, 1780 ; discharged, October 10th ; service, three 
months, seven days. Mass. Rolls, XIV, 328. This appears 
to have been his last enlistment. Though living in Peter- 
borough, his military services do not appear to have been 
to the credit of his adopted town. 

On April 17, 1818, he filed the following application : 

"In May A. D. 1778 I enlisted into the Continental service 
as a Private Soldier, and was placed in Capt Carr's Company 
in the 32d Regiment, Mass. Line, and there served against 
the Common Enemy 9 Months, the term of enlistment, when 
I was honorably discharged but have not now the certificate 
thereof. Again in A. D. 1779 I served three months more, 
and in A. D. 1780 3 months more, all in the same line. I 
further depose that I have never received any Pension from 
the United States, that I am now 58 years old, that I have a 
family, am very infirm, possess little property', and from 
reduced circumstances need assistance from my Country for 
support. 

(Signed) David Smiley." 

"I David Smiley depose that in my recollection of my 
Service above recorded must have been in the 3d Regiment 
of Learned's Brigade which was in the 9th Regiment in the 
Mass. Line. 

(Signed) David Smiley." 

The claim was granted. The Pension Act of May 7, 1820, 
provided that those receiving pensions under the Act of 1818, 
should not receive pensions further until they had filed a 
schedule of their property in court, and the amount of their 
income, and the Secretary of War was to strike from the 
rolls any name whose certificate did not show he was in such 
indigent circumstances as to need assistance from the 
country. Lender this statute, on July 20th, he filed the fol- 
lowing affidavit which, after setting out his military service, 
presents as follows: 



Personal and MiVdarij Sketches. 330 

"And I do .solemnly swear that I wa.s a resident Citizen 
of the United States on the 18th day of March. ISIS, and 
that I have not since that time by gift, sale or in any way. 
disposed of property or income other than contained in the 
following schedule. 
Schedule. 
About 50 acres of land in Peterboro valued 



at 




?450.00 


Farm mortgaged to John Smiley 


for 


S452.00 


2 Cows valued at 


.$24.rxj 




3 3 year old steers 


^47.00 




1 2 year old heifer 


5.00 




1 Horse 


12.00 




1 small wagon — old 


3.00 




1 old saddle and bridle 


2.00 




Old iron and chain 


1.00 




1 Trunk. 1 Chest— 3 Tables 


2.00 




9 old chairs — I Light stand 


2.25 




1 old set iron ware 


2.00 




1 Shoat 


5.00 




1 Lot Crockery and Glass ware 


2.00 





.$107.25 

*^I owe to several persons the amount of §120. and more. 
My occupation is that of farmer, but from nervous headache 
and asthma with which I have been aflflicted for 30 years. I 
am unable to labor. My family resides with me. and con- 
sists of a wife and two children — Polly, aged 26 and unable 
to support herself, and David, aged 20. 

(Siomed) David Smilev.-' 



His name was stricken from the rolls, and in April he 
filed an application to be restored to the rolls. This, after 
describing his military service, says : 

'•That since the exhibition of the first Schedule ('see 
above) the followinsr changes have been made in my prop- 
erty. Property disT»osed of as follows: 

"Sold to John Smiley May 8. 1822. 50 acres land for 
$300. and paid the same to David ^rorrison. to whom I was 
indebted for a larger sum. Three steers, and one Cow. 
sold to Francis Smiley for -$60.00. September 1820. Paid 
$35.00 to John White to whom I was in debt, and $25.00 to 



340 Peterborouyli in the Revolution. 

Elias Smiley in part payment on note lie held against me. 
Two year heifer and shoat killed for family use. One table 
and light stand useless. In family, wife aged G2, in ill 
health, daughter and grandchild depending on me. My own 
health miserable, I am subject to dizziness and cannot labor. 

(Signed) D. Smiley." 

He afterward addressed a letter to Hon. Clifton Claggett, 
the Justice of the court before whom the claim was pre- 
sented. A copy is herewith given : 

''Dear Sir: I noAv write to inform you that when I in- 
lested that I Past muster and that I had to take the oath to 
be faithful to my country and Govt, which was not the case 
with any of the militia when they went into the Service, 
for I served Six weeks before I served for 9 months and for 
3 months after and when I inlested for 9 months my inlest- 
ment runs to fill up the Continental Ranks, and to serve 9 
months after I got to the Army, — and that the inlestment 
for the last 3 years men runs in the Same Lyne and Believ- 
ing from what I have heard of our Beloved Secretary's Re- 
spectable Character I do still hope that you will lead his 
mind to see the mistake. 

(Signed) David Smiley. 

"P. S. Asks to draw Pension if granted, at Boston, as he 
has children living that way. Also refers to Samuel Cud- 
worth, of Greenfield, who 'applied last month, and obtained 
Pension, who served 9 months at the same time, Mass Line.' " 

His name was restored to the rolls. 

In 1855, at the age of 94 years, he applied for bounty land 
voted by Congress March 3, 1855. The claim was granted, 
and he obtained a warrant for his 160 acres of land August 
27, 1855, less than six weeks before his death. 

(There was a David Smilej^ in Lieutenant Adams's com- 
pany which marched from Dunstable in June, 1777. Ser- 
vice, six days, XV, 77; and also one of same name in Peter 
Cross's company. Colonel Nichols's regiment, same year; 
service, 27 days. XY, 518. This man may be the Peter- 
borough David Smiley.) 



James Smith. Son of William and Elizabeth Morison 
Smith. Born in Peterborough, January 29, 1756. About 



Personal and Military Sketches. 341 

1790 he removed to Cavendish, Vermont, where he lived the 
rest of his days, dying August 11, 1842, aged 86 years. He 
married Sally Ames, December 31, 1791. He was Justice of 
the Peace for many years in Cavendish, and represented the 
town in the Legislature for thirteen successive years. Was 
honored and respected by all who knew him. 

Enlisted into Alexander Robbe's company which answered 
the Ticonderoga Alarm, June 29, 1777 ; discharged, July 3d. 
Service, five days. Total pay and travel, £1 15s lOd. XV, 
101. See ''Reunion of Smith Family," jmge 103. 



Jeremiah Smith. Son of William and Elizabeth 
(Morison) Smith, and born in Peterborough, November 29, 
1759. His distinguished career has been delineated many 
times, and there is no need to repeat it here. See Life of 
Judge Smith, hy John H. Morison; History of Peterdorouffh, 
Genealogies, pages 258, 265, 276; Reunion of Smith Family, 
page 112. He died at Dover, N. H., September, 21, 1842, 
aged 82 years. 

He enlisted July 19, 1777, at New Ipswich, into Captain 
Stephen Parker's company of Colonel Moses Nichols's regi- 
ment, and was discharged September 26; service, two 
months, eight days. Wages, £4 10s per month. Total pay 
and travel, £12 Is Qd. State Papers, Yol. XV, 221. On the 
day of his enlistment, he presented himself at the house 
of Captain Parker and asked the privilege of enlisting. 
Captain Parker, struck by his youthful appearance (he was 
then not 17 years old), asked whose son he was, and was told 
"William Smith's of Peterborough." Captain Parker knew 
the father and told the boy that he wanted to talk with his 
parents. Captain Parker went to Peterborough that night, 
and saw the father who reluctantly gave his consent, first 
obtaining from Captain Parker a promise that if the com- 
pany went into action the boy should be excused. In the 
hottest part of the battle of Bennington, the Captain found 
him fighting by his side, and demanded to know what he was 
there for. "I thought it was my duty to follow my Cap- 



342 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

tain," was the reply. In the action a bullet shattered his 
musket, and another grazed his throat, which left its scar 
there for many years. Otherwise he was unhurt, and was 
one of the men detailed that night to guard the prisoners. 
Life of Judge Smith, pages 11 and 18. He went with his 
regiment, which joined the army of General Gates at Sara- 
toga, and took the part in that campaign in which his regi- 
ment shared. Forty-eight years later he visited the battle- 
fields, and recognized the ground over which he marched and 
fought as a boy in that decisive struggle. 

In his later life. Judge Smith told to his friend, Hon. S. 
D. Bell, who subsequently ^Tote it out, the following inci- 
dent of the campaign : 

"Captain Parker's company, to which I belonged, was 
ordered on a scout, and soon marched. Being pretty am- 
bitious, I got a place in the advanced guard which consisted 
of six men, who kept some rods in advance of the main body. 
After marching some miles on the roads on a very warm day, 
we came to a brook and a bridge over it ; most of the Company 
and I among the rest, left the ranks, and went to the brook 
to fill our canteens. A few moments only had passed, when 
we were startled by a sudden fire of musketry in our front, 
and saw the other five of the advanced guard (who had 
continued to proceed) all cut down. The Company was 
formed in a moment, and a charge made across the bridge, 
and the enemy fled in great haste into the woods, leaving 
their provisions and baggage. It seemed the enemy, about 
in equal force to ours, were also upon a scout; they had 
notice of our approach, and placed themselves in ambuscade. 
A heavy log fence on the left of the road reached from the 
bridge some distance, and they were concealed behind it, and 
were ordered to fire as soon as the front rank of our Com- 
pany had passed their left. The advanced guard, and the 
breaking of our ranks for water, which had not been fore- 
seen, defeated the enemy's plan, which they could not 
countermand without being discovered. Only the five men 
of the advanced guard were in front of the ambuscade, and 
they all fell, riddled with balls. Four of them were in- 
stantly killed; the fifth, a Mr. Robb, of Beterborough, was 
very severely wounded, but ultimately recovered, and lived 
many years, and," added Judge Smith, "I had the pleasure 



Personal and Military Sketches. 343 

when in Congress, many years afterward, to aid in obtaining 
for liim a pension." 

As no date or location was given in the above relation, 
it is not known when or where this skirmish occurred, but 
probably not far from the Hudson River, and previous to the 
battle of Bennington, on the morning of August 16th. His- 
tory of New Ipswich, 'pages 97 and 98. 

The Robbe referred to was Sergeant John Robbe, ac- 
credited on the rolls to the town of Stoddard. In 1778, 
General John Stark addressed the following letter to the 
Council and General Assembely of the State in his behalf : 

"Peterborough,, Jan. 1, 1778. 
May it Please your Honors : 

"Permit me to address you in behalf of Sergeant John 
Robbe of Stoddard, in the County of Cheshire, and State 
Aforesaid, the said Robbe being in the Engagement at Ben- 
nington under my command, was there much Wounded & 
Disabled from getting his Future Support, beg leave to 
Recommend the said John Robbe to the Favor of the said 
State as your Honors in your Wisdom shall think fitt — am 
with due respect, Your Honors most humble servant, 

John Stark, B. D. G." 

In the following May, the House of Representatives 
voted him half pay and £30 for extra expenses. See XIII, 
Ji65 and 466. 



John Smith. Son of William and Elizabeth (Morison) 
Smith, born in Peterborough, April 10, 1754, and passed his 
whole life in town, of which he was one of the foremost citi- 
zens, and until his death active in its public affairs. He 
was Moderator in 1793, '97, '98, '99, and in 1801 ; Represen- 
tative from 1791 to 1802 inclusive — 12 years. He succeeded 
his father, William Smith, as Justice of the Peace, in 1803, 
and held the office until his death. Was married to Mar- 
garet Steele, December 1, 1791, and died from accident by 
falling from a load of hay, August 7, 1821, aged 67 years. 
History of Peterhorough, Genealogies, 211, 272. 

Mustered into Captain Peter Coffin's company (raised 
pursuant to an order from the Committee of Safety, dated 



344 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

October 12, 1775), November 24, 1775. Joined the army at 
Cambridge. Service, tw^o months, 23 days. Paid wages 
and travel, £5 12s lOtZ. XYII, page 27. 

This regiment was raised at the earnest call of General 
Washington to the New England States for troops to take 
the place of the Connecticut regiments whose term of service 
ended about the first of December, 1775, and which refused, 
notwithstanding General Washington's most earnest ap- 
peals, to remain after the expiration of their enlistment. 
See ^'Reunion of Smith Family/' page 92. 



Robert Smith. Son of William and Elizabeth (Mori- 
son) Smith, born in Peterborough, February 15, 1753. Died 
in Peterborough, December 31, 1795, aged 43 years. Ete was 
Deacon of the Presbyterian Church, and Selectman in 1785, 
and 1792. Married Agnes Smiley, May 25, 1778; second 
wife, Isabel Ames. He was a man much respected for his 
worth and Christian character. 

Private in Captain xlbijah Smith's company of Colonel 
Nahum Baldwin's regiment, raised to reinforce the army in 
New York, out of Colonel Enoch Hale's regiment of militia. 
Mustered September 21, 1776. Paid a bounty of £6, and 
travel, £1 18s M. Total, £7 18s U. Served till the follow- 
ing December. Term, three months. The regiment was in 
the battle of ^Yhite Plains, October 28, 1776. XIV, 421. 

There were others of the name in service, but the above 
is the only enlistment of Robert Smith from Peterborough. 
See XIV, 261, 333; XV, 127, 162, 164, i07, 198, 237, 514. 

See Reunion of Smith Family, page 79. 



Thomas Smith. Was the son of John and Mary (Hark- 
ness) Smith, and born in Peterborough, June 8, 1756. Mar- 
ried Mary Ritchie. Lived all his life in the town of his 
nativity, and died there in 1825, aged 69 years. 

Private in Captain Josiah Brown's company, of Colonel 
Enoch Hale's regiment, which marched to Ticonderoga in 
May, 1777. Enlisted May 8, 1777. Service, 42 days. Wages, 



Personal and Military Sketches. 345 

£3 per month. Total pay and travel, £7 2s 8c?. XT, 21. 
Private in Captain Elisha Mack's company raised out of 
Colonel Ashley's regiment of militia in June, 1777, for rein- 
forcing the army at Ticonderoga. Marched to Black River, 
fifty miles, when the men were ordered home, where they 
arrived July 3d. On the fourth they were ordered again to 
Ticonderoga, and marched to Otter Creek, where they met 
part of the army on their retreat from Ticonderoga, and the 
regiment was again ordered home. XV, 65. Enlisted June 28, 

1777. Discharged, July 3d. Total pay and travel, £1 IS.s 
lOd. Enlisted July 4, 1777, into Colonel Jonathan Chace's 
regiment; discharged, July 11th. Service, eight days. Pay 
and travel, £2 13s 2d. XV, 4^. Enlisted into Captain 
Edmund Briant's company of Colonel Daniel Moore's r-egi- 
ment, raised to reinforce the army at Stillwater, in Septem- 
ber, 1777. Enlisted September 28, 1777 ; discharged, October 
2.5th. Service, 28 days. Wages per month, £4 10s. Total 
pay and travel, £6 19s. XV, 856. Private in Captain 
Samuel Cunningham's company of Colonel Enoch Hale's 
regiment raised to reinforce the army in Rhode Island in 

1778. Enlisted August 10, 1778; discharged, August 28th; 
service, 21 days. Wages, £5 per month. Total pay and 
travel, £11 2s. JlT , 539. 

He was a resident of Peterborough in 1783, and was one 
of the signers of the petition to the General Court in regard 
to the action then x>ending against Rev. John Morrison. 

XIII, m. 

(A Thomas Smith, from New Boston, was in Captain 
William Barron's company of Colonel Joshua Wingate's 
regiment, in 1776. Paid bounty, wages and travel. £10 3s. 
XIV, 359. Also in Colonel Jonathan Chace's regiment, in 
June, 1777. and was paid £1 3s Sd. XV, .'^.3. Also in Colonel 
Joseph Cilley's regiment in 1778. This man is reported 
from Worcester, and as a deserter. JT', -J.36'. A Thomas 
Smith from Portsmouth in 1779, in Colonel Theophilus 
Dame's regiment. XV, 693. On duty at Fort Washington 
in 1780. XVI, 2U). 



346 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

Samuel Spear. Was born in 17G2, place unknown. 
There was a William Spear in town at the time of, and prior 
to, the Kevolution, but the place whence he came is not 
found. Samuel may have been the son of this William, but 
it cannot be asserted with certainty. The soldier lived in 
town until his death, which occurred April 2, 1823, at the age 
of Gl years. 

Enlisted into Captain William Scott's company of 
Colonel Henry Jackson's (Mass.) regiment, March 7, 1778, 
for three years. Residence, Peterborough. XV, Ji21. On 
a similar roll of Seventh (Captain Scott's) company of same 
regiment, dated August 21, 1780. XVI, Jil. Also on pay 
roll of same company and regiment, July 30, 1779, and was 
paid £15. XVI, 101. Also on rolls in War Office, Washing- 
ton, D. C, dated March 1, 1784; residence given Peter- 
borough. XVI, 303. Upon Massachusetts rolls he is ac- 
credited to Peterborough, on pay or muster rolls for No- 
vember, 1778; April, 1779; October, 1779, and from April 
to July in 1780. A private in Captain Joseph Fox's com- 
pany of Colonel Henry Jackson's (Mass.)' regiment; on roll 
of Continental pay accounts for service from March 7, 
1778, to December 31, 1779, and on another roll of Conti- 
nental pay accounts for services from January, 1780, to 
December 31, 1780. On roll of Captain William Scott's com- 
pany of Colonel Henley's (Mass.) regiment in 1778. By an 
arrangement made April 9, 1779, Colonel Henley's regiment 
was consolidated, with other commands, by return made up 
at Morristown, April 30, 1780, into that of Colonel Henry 
Jackson, i^ce Mass. Bolls, Vol. XIV, page 707. He is the 
same man whose name appears on the rolls of the Ninth 
Company of Colonel Alexander Scamrael's New Hampshire 
regiment, to equalize the pay of soldiers on account of the 
depreciation of the currency, for service prior to 1780. See 

XV, 733, by which he is allowed |130.40, and on a similar 
roll of Tenth Company of same regiment made up for the 
same object, for service in 1780, by which he was paid 

XVI, 213. 



Personal and Military Sketches. 347 

"Tliis may certify that Saml Spear in the 9tli Massachu- 
setts Regiment is returned as one of the quota of the State 
of New hampshire to tlie Board of War in Philadelphia & is 
to receive his depreciation from s,^ State of New Hampshire. 
Hienry Jackson Col d^^ Mass. Kegt. 

Boston March 22, 1781." 

XVI, 266. 

His name is on the rolls of the Ninth Company of Colonel 
Scammel's regiment, along with other New Hampshire men, 
in Colonel Jackson's regiment, in the Continental Army for 
1781, and was paid |14.80. XVI, 279. 

In 1784 the State paid him £24 depreciation money for 
his service in 1780, XX, 240; and £4 9s M for depreciation 
money for service in 1781. kiame. 

''York Hutts near West Point March 7tli 1781. 
''This may Certify that Samuel Spear has Returned in 
his Musquet — Bayonet — Gun Sling — C. Box — forty Car- 
tridges three flints Brush and Pick thum Screw and Knap- 
sack. 

Andrew Kittell, 

Serg't Commanding Company." 

XVII, 418. 

By his will, dated February 19, 1823, he gave to his 
brother. Moor Spear, and to each of his sisters, Margaret 
Temple, Betsey Howe, and Ann Hill, one dollar each; to 
Sally Abbott, wife of Daniel Abbott, free rental of the place 
whereon they were living for five years, and the residue is 
given to Jeremiah Smith, who was made executor and was 
probably a creditor. He never married. In his application 
for a pension sworn to October 7, 1819, he states that he 
served three years in Colonel Jackson's regiment, and was 
in indigent circumstances. James Cunningham, Jr., of 
Peterborough, in an affidavit dated October 9, 1819, says 
that he, the claimant, ''Is reduced in Circumstances on 
account of his being bound for certain persons and is now in 
the County Gaol by virtue of an execution and is liable 
to the levy of other executions on his body, he not 
being possessed of any real estate whereon to levy said exe- 



S48 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

cutions and in my opinion he stands in need of the assis- 
tance of his Country for his support." 

The following is his Discharge: "This may certify that 
Samuel Spear, soldier in the 9th Massachusetts Regiment 
hath this day faithfully completed the time of three years 
which he engaged to serve the United States and is honorably 
discharged the American Army. Given at Hutts near 
West Point. Samuel Hiscotte, 

Major Com'ditig 9th Mass. Regt. 

March 7, 1781." 

(A Samuel Spear from New Ipswich was in Captain 
Daniel Reynolds's company, Colonel Thomas Tash's regi- 
ment in 1776. XIV, Jtl2; in Captain Reynold's company of 
Colonel Moses Nichols's regiment in 1777. XY, 200.) 



Amos Spofford. Son of Abijah and Mary (Towne) 
Spofford, who came to Sharon from Boxford, Mass., about 
1780, and settled near ''Spofford Gap." The soldier was 
born in Rowley, Mass., August 28, 1765. He married Mary 
Taggart, and died in Sharon, February 13, 1830, aged 65 
years. 

Enlisted as a recruit to serve six months in the Conti- 
nental Army, June 30, 1780, to the credit of Sharon. Dis- 
charged, January 1, 1781. Allowed for a blanket, £335, and 
for travel to Worcester, £58 16s (ratio, 67 to 1). XVI, 82, 91. 
Age given, 14 years, and on the roll, page 91, residence given 
Peterborough. 

"Peterborough Slip, July ye 3^ 1780. 

"Received of Jeremiah Andrews in Behalf of the Class to 
which he belongs in said Town Eighteen pounds Lawful 
money in Silver, as a hire or bounty for my son Amos Spof- 
ford, a Minor ingaging to and inlisting as one of the New 
Levies in the Continental Army for six months in addition to 
the Bounty wages Travel &c given or promised by the States 
or United States. 

Abijah Spofford. 

Attest Saml Milliken." 

Sharon Records, page 169. 



' Personal and Military Sketches. 349 

Enlisted into Captain Jeremiah Oilman's company of 
First New Hampshire regiment, January 1, 1781; dis- 
charged, December 31, 1781. XVI, 221. Kidder's History 
First N. H. Regiment. Served to the credit of Peterborough, 
and is claimed for this enlistment by the town. XVI, 511 
and 794; XVII, 291. On pay roll of Seventh Company, 
Colonel Cilley's regiment in 1781, and was paid |80. XVI, 
270. He enlisted into the First New Hampshire regiment 
in 1782, and served until the end of the war. No rolls of this 
enlistment have been found. See Kidder's History First N. 
H. Regiment. He was a resident of the town in 1790. See 
First U. S. Census returns. 

The committee appointed in 1786 to settle with the sol- 
diers of the town serving in the Continental Army, found 
there was due him, under the vote of 1782, allowing to each 
man in the Army, £10 Os Od yearly, the sum of £11 13s M 
for which security was given. 

^^to the Honhle John Taylor Oilman Esq' Treasurer. 

"Sir please to pay Lt Mathew Walls the whole of the 
wages due to me for serving six months in the Melitia of the 
State of New hampshire and all other money that is my 
due and this shall be your discharge from me. 

Amos Spofford.' 

Peterbo October the 29 1784" 

XIII, 183. 

In 1784 the State paid him £17 13s M depreciation money 
for his services in 1780, XX, 243, and the same year also 
paid him £19 10s Wd depreciation money for service in 1781. 
XX, 240. 

He filed an application for pension April 9, 1818, in 
which he says: 

"That in the spring A. D. 1780, I enlisted as a Private 
Soldier into Capt. or Major Scott's Company in Col. Cilley's 
Regiment in the N. H. Line in the Continental Service and 
then served against the Common Enemy until the close of 
the War— over Three Years, and was wounded, after which 
I was honorably discharged. I further depose that I have 
received a Pension from the United States, am now willing 



350 Peterborough m the Revolution. 

to, and do hereby relinquish it, on Condition of my being 
successful in this application. That I am 52 years old, have 
a large family, am very poor. And from my reduced con- 
dition need assistance from my Country for support." 

He was originally pensioned under the Invalid Disability 
Act, dating from September 28, 1808. This pension was 
increased under the Act of 1818. 

In a schedule of his property dated July 4, 1820, he says 
he is 54 years old and has the following property: 1 cow, 
valued at |15; 1 yearling, at |5; 1 hog and 3 pigs, at $8; 
5 sheep at |5=|33. "I owe more than twice the amount of 
the above property. Occupation, farmer. In good health. 
Wife and five children. All healthy. I was disabled and 
had Pension formerly as Disabled Soldier." 

After his death his wife was granted a pension until her 
death. 



James Stanford, Place and date of birth have not been 
discovered. He may have been of the same family as Joseph 
Stanford, see next soldier, but family genealogists have not, 
so far, identified him. His name nowhere appears on any 
existing record of Peterborough either before or after the 
war, and the place and date of his death are unknown. 

On roll of Captain John Taggart's company which 
answered the Ticonderoga Alarm in 1777. Enlisted June 
30, 1777; discharged, July 4th; service, five days. Pay and 
travel, £1 15s 10f7, XV, lOff. 

Residence, Peterborough, N. H. On list of men mustered 
by Nathaniel Barber, Muster Master for Suffolk County, 
Mass., dated Boston, August 17, 1777. This enlistment was 
July 29, 1777, into Captain William Scott's company of 
Colonel David Henley's regiment. April 0, 1779, reported 
to have received State bounty. Mass. Rolls, XTV, 819 and 
820. On roll of New Hampshire men in Colonel Jackson's 
regiment, dated Boston, August 21, 1783, by which the 
amount of his pay in specie for three years was fixed at £58 



Personal and Military Sketches. 351 

2s Sd, and his pay for 1780 in specie was fixed £41 6s 2d. 
XVI, 55. On this roll he is accredited to Attle- 
borough, Mass. Also on a roll of New Hampshire men in 
Colonel Jackson's regiment, Seventh Company, Town, Peter- 
borough. XVI, Jf7, 55. On roll of Continental pay acounts 
from July 29, 1777, to June 29, 1780; residence, Peter- 
borough ; credited to the town of Attleborough. In Captain 
Lemuel Trescott's company detached from Colonel David 
Henlej's regiment; on pay rolls for April and May, 1778, 
sworn to at Providence. In Captain Scott's company, 
Colonel Henley's regiment; in Captain Fox's company, 
Colonel Jackson's regiment on muster roll for April, 1779, 
dated at Pawtuxet, enlisted July 29, 1777; on pay roll for 
Jul3% 1779, dated Providence, and on muster roll for October, 
1779; on regimental return made up to December 31, 1779, 
dated Camp at Providence; on a return certified at Camp 
near Morristown, of oflScers and men of Colonel Lee's, Hen- 
ley's and Jackson's regiments, who were consolidated into 
a regiment under Colonel Jackson, agreeable to the arrange- 
ment of April 9, 1779. On pay roll for May, June and July, 
1780, Corporal, Captain Fox's company; residence, Peter- 
borough, N. H. Engaged June 29, 1777; term, three years; 
engaged for Attleborough. Reported reduced to private, 
January 7, 1779; discharged, June 29, 1780. Mass. Rolls, 
XIV, 819, 820. On roll of Xew Hampshire men in addi- 
tional regiments and independent corps in the War Office 
and dated March 1, 1784. XVI, 303.. On return of New 
Hampshire men in Colonel Jackson's Massachusetts regi- 
ment. XVI, 47 and 55; pay roll of New Hampshire men in 
same regiment dated July, 1779, and was paid £15 Os Od. 
XVI, 101. On roll of New Hampshire men in Colonel Jack- 
son's Massachusetts regiment; residence, Peterborough. 
Enlisted June 29, 1777. XV, 1^21. His name does not 
appear on the depreciation rolls for January 1, 1780, nor 
subsequently. 

See communications in Peterborough Transcript of No- 
vember 7th and December 5, 1905, by A. W. Stanford, Esq. 



352 PetcrhorougJi in the Revolution. 

JosBPn Stx\nford, He was the son of Caleb and Ruth 
(Cozzens) Stanford, and was born in Sherburne, Mass., 
March 9, 1745. The parents removed to Dublin, N. H., some 
time prior to 1773, where they were living at the beginning 
of the war. Place and date of death unknown, but probably 
he died in either Dublin or Nelson. 

Private in Captain William Scott's company which 
answered the Lexington Alarm, April 19, 1775. Service, 
three days. Enlisted into the same company of Colonel 
Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment, April 23, 1775. Dis- 
charged, December 31st; service, eight months, seven days. 
On a return of same company and regiment dated October 
6, 1775. Order for bounty coat or money, November 14, 
1775. Residence, Peterborough, N. H. Also given as 
Packersfield (Nelson). Mass. Rolls, XIII, page 821. On 
the New Hampshire rolls of this service, copied from the 
Massachusetts rolls, his residence is given Packersfield. XV, 
740. See Peterborough Transcript for November 7th and 
December 5, 1905, Communications by A. W. Stanford, Esq. 



Ephraim Stevens. Date and place of birth unknown, 
but was a resident of Peterborough at the beginning of the 
war, and was a member of Captain Alexander Robbe's com- 
pany of militia in January, 1776. 

He is on the return of Colonel Enoch Hale made under au 
order of the Committee of Safety dated April, 1777, direct- 
ing him to recruit 119 men out of his militia regiment for 
the Continental Army; a member of Captain William Scott's 
company. Colonel Joseph Cilley's regiment. XIV, 577. On 
a return of men enlisting from Peterborough for three years 
into First New Hampshire regiment (Colonel Cilley's) in 
1770. Date not given. Residence. Peterborough. XIT, 
Jf68. On a roll of men enlisted for three years or during the 
war from Peterborough, in same company and regiment. 
Enlisted February 15, 1777. Mustered December 17, 1777. 
Paid a bounty of £20, and 8s lOtZ for travel. XIV, 612. On 



Personal and MiUtary Sietches. 353 

a roll of absentees from same company and regiment dated 
Valley Forge. Jannarr 10. 1778. Descriptive list: Resi- 
dence. Peterborough: age. 17 years; stamre. five feet, seven 
iDches; complexion, light: hair, light; eyes, light; left at 
Albany, sick. XT', 4^4- On a roll of same company and regi- 
m.ent to equalize the pay of soldiers on account of deprecia- 
tion of the currency, for service prior to January 1. 17S0, 
and was paid |177.60. XT. 711. On a similar roll of same 
company and regiment for service in 1780. and was paid 
*17.70. XVI. 19S. Is reported to have died in service. If 
so. he must have re-enlisted at the end of his first term. 
Discharged. March 20. 1780. and died in 1780. "81 or '82; 
date unknown. He disappears from view with this record 
and is not again heard from. In 1785 the State paid his 
heirs £50 lO.s- od depreciation money for his service in 1777, 
1778 and 1779. XX. 270. 

LA-u Ephraim Stevens from Xew Ipswich was in Captain 
Ezra Towne's company of Colonel James Reed's regiment in 
1775. Served eight months. XIT. 91: in Captain Parkers 
company of Colonel Nichols's regiment in 1777. in the Ben- 
nington Campaign. Xr. 220: in Captain Brown's company. 
Colonel Enoch Hale's regiment, which answered the Ticon- 
deroga Alarm in 1777. XT. 93. There was also an Eph- 
raim Stevens of Derryfield Olanchester'l. N. H. Enlisted 
into Second Company of Colonel Joseph Cilley's regiment 
for three years, and paid a bounty of £24. XTI. 735. On 
depreciation rolls for service prior to January 1. 1780. and 
paid $176. XF, 772. and on a similar roll for service in 
1780. and was paid ?5.50. XTI. 199. Enlisted March 1, 
1777: discharged. January 25. 1780. See Potters History 
of Manchester. X. H.. page 462. He was a United States 
pensioner and died in Manchester. X. H.. in 1845. aged 
87 years. Ephraim Stevens of Xew Ipswich was with 
General Arnold in the expedition against Quebec in 1775. 
XIT, 221). 

24 



354 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

James Stinson. Was the son of Samuel and Margaret 
Stinson. Place and date of birth unknown. The family 
was from Londonderry. James was a brother of Moor 
Stinson, a soldier in the French and Indian War. See ante, 
page 11. Samuel Stinson came to town about 1749. James 
signed the petition to Governor Went worth for a fort on 
Meeting House Hill. XIII, 116, and was Highway Sur- 
veyor in 1773. The place and date of his death cannot be 
found. 

A private in Captain William Scott's company of minute- 
men who answered the Lexington Alarm in April, 1775. 
Enlisted April 20th; discharged, April 23d; service, three 
days. Re-enlisted into Captain William Scott's company of 
Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment, April 23, 1775; on 
muster roll of same company, August 1 ; on company 
return dated October 6th ; receipted for bounty coat Novem- 
ber 14th, and discharged, December 31, 1775. Service, eight 
months, eight days. Mass. Rolls, Vol. XV, page 35. His 
name does not appear on any other printed roll. A man by 
the same name served for Londonderry. XIV, 75, 178. 



John Stroud. Lived in Nelson, then Packersfield, in 
1773 and 1774, where he took up a lot, built a house, and 
cleared land. XXVIII, Jf5 and 51. His lot was No. 4 in the 
10th Range. In 1773 his family consisted of three persons. 
XXVIII, 12. There was a contest over the question of in- 
corporating the town in which Stroud took an active part. 
XXVIII, 12, 18, 38, 39, J,l. How much it had to do with 
his leaving Nelson cannot be determined from the records. 
He removed from Nelson to Peterborough in 1774 or 1775. 

Enlisted into Captain Benjamin Mann's company of 
Colonel James Reed's regiment, April 23, 1775. Discharged, 
December 31st. On pay roll of August 1, 1775, and was 
paid £9 6s 4(f. Wages were 40s per month. XIV, 101. Re- 
ceipted to Timothy Walker, October 12, 1775, for four dollars 
in lieu of bounty coat promised by New Hampshire. XIV, 
206, 207. He signed the Association Test, in Nelson, in 



Personal and Military Sketches. 355 

1776. On the pay roll of Captain Solomon Stone's company 
of Colonel Enoch Hale's regiment which marched from 
Rindge to join the army at Bennington and Stillwater in 
July, 1777. Enlisted July 21, 1777; discharged, September 
26th; service, two months, six days. Wages, £4 10s per 
month. Total pay and travel, 11£ 14s 8d XV, 217. A re- 
cruit in the army in 1781 — raised under an act passed June 
26, 1781. VIII, 901 Mustered October 4, 1781 ; discharged, 
December 21st. Service, two months, 18 days. Service was 
at West Point, in regiment of Lieutenant-Colonel Reynolds. 
Wages, forty shillings per month. Residence, and town 
served for, Peterborough. XVI, 247, 254. 

John Stroud went to Dublin about the close of the war, 
and from thence removed to Stoddard, where he was residing 
in 1800. Whether he died there, there are no records to 
determine. None of his descendants are now living in the 
town. 



Alexander Stuart (or Stewart), Nothing is known of 
him save that he was one of the men answering the Lexing- 
ton Alarm in 1775. Enlisted into Captain William Scott's 
company, Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment, April 23, 
1775. On muster roll dated August 1, 1775. Deserted. 
XV, 739. Mass. Rolls, XIV, 991, 950. His name is on the 
roll of Captain Alexander Robbe's company of militia dated 
January 13, 1776, and he also signed the Association Test 
in 1776. If living in 1790, he was not then a resident of the 
State. The diary of Dr. Kendall Osgood, a physician of 
Peterborough from 1787 to 1801, records a professional visit 
to him December 28, 1788. From that date Stuart's name 
disappears from view. He was a resident of Peterborough 
when the war began, and continued to live there until 1788. 



Charles Stuart (or Stewart). Son of William and 
Martha Stuart, and born in Lunenburg, Mass., October 8, 
1745. Came to Peterborough in 1750. Was active in town 
affairs, serving as Selectman in 1775, 1781, 1784, 1785, 1793, 



356 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

1794, 1795, 1796, 1797, 1798, ten years, besides filling other 
town offices. Married Esther Ferguson, August 27, 1766, 
and died in Peterborough, October 13, 1802, aged 57 years. 

Enlisted into Captain Titus Salter's company of artil- 
lery, October 30, 1775, to serve till December 31st. VII, 582; 
XIV, 221; XVII, SO. The same man kept in service, or re- 
enlisted for a year longer by a vote of the Provincial Con- 
gress, December 23, 1775. VII, 695. Receipted for pay, 
February 16, 1776. XIV, 257. Sergeant in Captain Alex- 
ander Robbe's company which answered the Ticonderoga 
Alarm in 1777. Enlisted June 29th; discharged, July 3, 
1777. Pay and travel, £1 17s 2d. XV, 101. Sergeant in 
Captain Samuel Cunningham's company of Colonel Enoch 
Hale's regiment which went to Rhode" Island in 1778. En- 
listed August 10, 1778; discharged, August 28th. Service, 
21 days. Wages, £5 10s per month. Total pay and travel, 
£11 9s. XV, 538. 



John Stuart (or Stewart). He was a resident of the 
town before 1767, XIII, 176, and was a member of Alexan- 
der Robbe's company of militia in 1776. Place and date of 
birth and death unknown. His name nowhere appears on 
the town records nor was he a resident of Peterborough in 
1790. 

A private in Captain Daniel Runnells's (Reynolds) com- 
pany of Colonel Thomas Tash's regiment raised in 1776 to 
serve in New York. Mustered September 26, 1776. Paid 
a bounty of £6, and for billeting £2 8s. Served till Decem- 
ber 1, 1776. XIV, 1,11. Private in Captain Stephen Pea- 
body's company which marched from Amherst for Ticonde- 
roga on the Alarm of June 30, 1777. Enlisted June 30, 1777 ; 
discharged, July 4th. Service five days. Was paid £1 15s 
lOf? for wages and travel. XV, 73. Private in Captain 
Daniel Runnells's (Reynolds) company of Colonel Nichols's 
regiment which marched to Bennington and Stillwater in 
1777. Enlisted July 20, 1777; discharged, September 28tli. 
Service, two months, nine days. Paid wages and travel, £13 



Personal and Military Sketclics. 357 

2.<? lOd. XV^ 201. On the rolls his residence is given as 
Peterborough. This is the only record that connects his 
military service with the town. He was probably from 
Londonderry. He was in the battle of Bennington and went 
to Stillwater. Probably from Londonderry or New Boston. 
(A John Stewart (idem sonans) was a private in Cap- 
tain Jonas Kidder's company of Colonel Moses Nichols's 
regiment in 1780. Enlisted July 5, 1780; discharged, Oc- 
tober 24th. XVI, 1J,1. From Antrim. XVI, 162. A John 
Stewart from New Boston in Captain Lovejoys's company 
and at Portsmouth in 1779. XV, 696, 698. And a John 
Stewart was in service at Fort Washington on April 14, 
1780, XVI, 21Jf, and in Captain Bearing's company on 
June 25, 1781. XVI, 234- A man by the same name was 
in the militia company of Lyme, N. H., in 1776. XVI, 314 
and is perhaps the same man in Captain Ebenezer Greene's 
company of Colonel Timothy Bedel's regiment in 1776. See 
XIV, 268, 271). 



John Swan. Was the son of John Swan, one of the 
pioneers of Peterborough. Was born in 1732, at a place un- 
known. The date of his coming to town cannot be found. 
It has been stated that he married Agnes Nay — History of 
Peterborough, Genealogies, pages 300-301, but this is in- 
correct. See same authority, page 212. It was his son 
John who married Agnes Nay. He was living in Peter- 
borough in 1774, and in Dublin in 1776, where he signed the 
Association Test that year. He then removed to Sharon, 
where he resided in 1777, but was again living in Peter- 
borough in 1784. Afterward he went to New York State, 
and died at a place and a date not learned. 

Enlisted into Captain John Taggart's (Sharon) company 
June 29, 1777; rank. Sergeant; discharged, July 4th; service, 
five days. Pay for travel and service, £1 17s 2d. XV, 104- 
He was one of the five men returned for Dublin under an 
order addressed to Colonel Enoch Hale, dated April, 1777, 



358 Peterhorough in the Revolution. 

directing him to recruit 119 men for the Continental Army. 
XIY, 377. Assigned to Captain Blodgett's company of 
Colonel Hale's and Lieutenant- Colonel George Reid (Sec- 
ond) Regiment. On a list of absentees of same regiment 
dated June, 1777. His descriptive list on this roll is: 
Height, live feet, ten inches; light hair; light eyes; age, 38 
years; residence, Dublin. XV, 626. See another descrip- 
tive list. XV, Jf42. On a roll of same company dated May, 
1777, his age is given as 45 years, XH' 6 J J/, but the same 
man is referred to. On depreciation rolls of same regiment 
and was paid on account of the depreciation of the currency 
for service up to January 1, 1780, |71.30. XV, 724. Ac- 
credited to Dublin. Date of discharge not given, but was 
probably in June or earlier, 1779. He appears in Sharon, 
July 14, 1779, when he demands pay for the military 
service of his apprentice, Timothy Locke. XVI, 835. 
He was paid for his service in Captain Blodgett's company 
by the town of Dublin, either as a bounty or extra pay, by 
order dated May and October, 1784. The amount paid is not 
stated. XI, 556. 



John Swan^ Jr. Was probably the oldest son of John 
Swan of preceding sketch. He married Agnes Nay, March 
3, 1790. She was the daughter of William and Mary E. 
(Brownley) McNee. The soldier was born about 1758, in 
Peterborough. How many years he lived in Peterborough is 
not definitely known. He was living there in 1774, in 
Sharon in 1777, and again in 1784 in Peterborough, where 
he signed petition relating to affairs in which the town was 
interested. He left Peterborough some time after the Revo- 
lution and removed to Ohio, and died at a place and on a 
date unknown. 

He enlisted into Captain John Taggart's (Sharon) com- 
pany of Lieutenant-Colonel Heald's regiment, June 29, 1777, 
and was discharged July 4th. Service, five days. Paid 
wages and travel, £1 15s lOd. XV, 104- On September 25, 



Personal and Military Sketches. 359 

1777, lie also enlisted into Captain Edmund Briant's com- 
pany of Colonel Daniel Moore's regiment. Discharged, Oc- 
tober 25tli ; service, 28 days. Was paid for wages and travel, 
£6 19s. XV, 357. 



John Swan 3d. Called ''Lieutenant," and sometimes 
"Captain," was the son of Alexander* and Elizabeth (Pit- 
man) Swan, and a grandson of John Swan, the progenitor 
of the family in Peterborough. He was born, probably, in 
Lunenburg, Mass., in 1744. The date of the family coming 
to Peterborough is not known. John Swan, the soldier, re- 
moved to Sharon in 1771 or 1772. He was Surveyor of 
Highways in that town in 1777 and in 1779, was Selectman 
several years, and Moderator in 1803 and 1804. Married 
Sarah Taggart, daughter of John and Barbara Taggart, born 
in 1745, of Sharon, by whom he had nine children. In 1804 
he removed to Peterborough, where he continued to live 
until late in life, when with his wife, he went to New York 
to live with his children, and where he died about 1836, aged 
upward of 90 years. Place and precise date of death 
have not been discovered. 

Sergeant in Captain William Scott's company which 
answered the Lexington Alarm, April 19, 1775. Service, 
three days. Enlisted into Captain William Scott's company 
of Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment, April 23, 1775. 
Rank, Sergeant. On pay roll of same company and regi- 
ment, dated August 1st. On a return of same company 
dated October 6th. Reported on command at Quebec. 
There is no roll showing this service at Quebec. He may 
have been in the rear division which went as far as Dead 
River and then returned to Cambridge, reaching there No- 
vember 23, 1775. Alass. Rolls, Vol XV, 215. N. H. State 
Papers, XV, 739. Mustered into Captain Abijah Smith's 
company of Colonel Nahum Baldwin's regiment, out of 
Colonel Enoch Hale's regiment of militia, September 21, 

* For second wife he married Lucy Stiles Foster in Lunenburg, March 7, 1756. 
At time of Mrs. Foster's marriage with Alexander, she was a woman of middle age. 



360 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

177G. Discharged about December 1st. Term, two and one- 
half months. Paid a bounty of £G, and £1 18s 4(Z for travel. 
The regiment was in the battle of White Plains, October 28, 
1776. XIV, 420. Enlisted into Captain William Scott's 
company of Colonel David Henley's (Mass.) regiment, June 
29, 1777. Accredited to Attleborough, Mass. By a roll 
made up August 21, 1783, the amount of his wages, for three 
years, in specie, was £60 2s 8d, and for tlie year 1780, £14 
Is 4d XVI, 55. On a roll of Continental pay accounts 
from June 20, 1777, to June 29, 1780. In Captain Lemuel 
Trescott's company, detached from Colonel Henley's regi- 
ment; on pay rolls for April and May, 1778, and sworn to 
at Providence; private in Major Trescott's company, Colonel 
Henry Jackson's (Mass.) regiment; on muster roll for 
April, 1779; reported on command at Warwick; on pay roll 
for July, 1779, dated at Providence; and on pay roll for 
October, 1779 ; on a regimental return made up to December 
31, 1779, dated Camp at Providence; on a return certified at 
Camp near Morristown, April 30, 1780, of officers and men 
of Colonel Lee's, Henley's and Sherburne's regiments con- 
solidated into Colonel Henry Jackson's (Mass.) regiment, 
April 9, 1779; on pay rolls for May, June and July, 1780; 
promoted Sergeant in Captain William Scott's company, 
July 1, 1778 ; reduced to ranks, November 27, 1778. Family 
in Peterborough, N. H. ; soldier's residence, Peterborough. 
Discharged, June 29, 1780. Mass. Rolls, Vol. XV, 275. On a 
roll of New Hampshire men in additional regiments and 
independent companies, in the War Office, dated March 1, 
1784; rank, private; regiment, Colonel Jackson's; residence, 
Peterborough. XVI, 303; on return of New Hampshire 
men in Colonel Jackson's regiment, XVI, Jfi, 55; on pay 
roll of New Hampshire men in same regiment and paid £15. 
XVI, 101. On a pay roll of Ninth Company of Colonel 
Alexander Scammel's regiment, to equalize the pay of sol- 
diers on account of the depreciation of the currency, for 
service prior to January 1, 1780, and was paid |163. XV, 
733. On a similar roll of the Tenth Company of the same 



Personal and Military Sketches. 361 

regiment, for service in 1780, and was paid |39.70. XVI, 
213, and see XX, 216. 

''To the Honhle John Taylor Oilman Esq, Treas' 

"Sir Please pay to Mathew Wallace the whole of the 
Wages Due to me from the State of New Hampshire for 
Serving as a Soldier in the Continental Army in Colo Jack- 
son's Regt and this shall be your discharge. 

John Swan 
Peterborough Janry the 22nci A. D. 1785 
Test Samuel Morrison 
John Wallace" 
State Arcliives, Vol. Ill, page 118. 

(John Swan "of Keene," was in Captain Samuel 
Wetherbee's company of Colonel Isaac Wyman's regiment in 
1770. Paid advance wages, bounty (£6), and travel, £10 Os 
Ad. XIV, 325, 464' He refused to sign the Association 
Test in 1776. From 1770 to 1788 he lived in Keene, and his 
ten children were all born there. In 1790 he was living in 
Marlborough, N. H. This man was not of Scotch Irish 
descent.) 

The man in Colonel Baldwin's regiment is claimed for 
Dublin. See Early Dublin, page 11. 

The following, a copy of his application for a pension, is 
from the files of the United States Pension Ofifice. He was 
placed on the pension rolls, June 30, 1818. 

"I, John Swan of Peterborough in the county of Hills- 
borough and State of New Hampshire and formerly of 
Sharon (N. H.) Husbandman, Depose, that in April A. D. 
1775 I enlisted as a Private Soldier or Sargent, into Capt. 
Scott's Company in Col. Stark's Regiment in the New Hamp- 
shire Line in the Continental Service and there served 
against the common enemy till January A. D. 1776 ; again in 
July A. D. 1776, I enlisted and served five months more; in 
June A. D. 1777, I enlisted again in Col. Jackson's Regiment 
in the Massachusetts Line and served against the common 

enemy three years when I was honorably 

discharged as appears by the annexed certificate. 

"I further depose, that I have never received any pension 
from the United States and am now seventy-four years of 



302 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

age; have a family; and am very destitute of property, and 
from my reduced circumstances need assistance from my 
Country for support. 

(Signed) John Swan. 

April 9, 1818." 



Robert Swan. Son of Gustavus and Isabel (Wilson) 
Swan, born in Peterborough, September IG, 1752. He was a 
man of limited education, but of superior abilities, and 
through his long life was one of the most iutiueutial men 
in town. Married Jane Alld about 1778 or '79, and died in 
Peterborough, May 25, 1835, aged 83 years. 

Enlisted into Captain Alexander Ivobbe's company which 
answered the Ticonderoga Alarm, June 29, 1777 ; discharged, 
July 3. Service, five days. Total pay and travel, £1 15s 
lOd XV, 101. Private in Captain Joseph Parker's com- 
pany. Colonel Isaac Wyman's regiment, raised out of Colonel 
Enoch Hale's regiment of militia. Mustered and paid 
bounty and one month's pay, July 18, 1776, £9 18s. Travel, 
4s. XIV, 333. Length of service until December 1, 177G — 
four months, 13 days. 



William Swan. Son of Gustavus and Isabel (Wilson) 
Swan, and born in Peterborough, March 17, 1747. Seven 
of his nine children were bom in Peterborough. Some time 
between 1784 and 1798 he removed to St. Albans, Vermont. 
He was drowned by the breaking of the ice in Lake Cham- 
plain on Christmas day, 1799, aged 53 years. Twice mar- 
ried. First wife, Annas Wood; second wife, Abigail Col- 
burn, probably of Vermont. 

Enlisted into Captain Alexander Robbe's company which 
answered the Ticonderoga Alarm, June 29, 1777; dis- 
charged, July 3d; service, five days. Total pay and travel, 
£1 15s lOd. XV, 101. No other record of his service can 
be found on any military roll. History of Peterborough 
says he served at the Alarm at Lexington, and in the army 
at Cambridge (page 154), but it is not so stated on any pub- 
lished roll. 



Personal and Military Sketches. 3G3 

(A William Swan from Dover served in Captain Joshua 
Woodman's company of Colonel Daniel Keyuolds's regiment 
in 1781. XVII, 435. Probably same man in Captain 
Simeon Marston's company of Colonel Joshua Wingate's 
regiment in 1776. Reported from Hampton. XXX, 458). 



James Taggart (Lieutenant). James Taggart, the 
commissioned officer, was the son of John Taggart, and was 
born May 11, 1742. Place unknown. There is no record of 
his birth in Roxbury, Mass. He came to Peterborough with 
his parents in 1752, and there continued a resident until some 
time after the war, when he removed to Sharon, where he 
died January 25, 1825, aged 83 years. Married Elizabeth 
Nay. 

Entered the service as Second Lieutenant in Captain 
John Marcy's company of Colonel James Reed's regiment. 
May 8, 1775; discharged, December 31st; term, seven 
months, 22 days. Wages, seventy shillings per month ; total 
pay and travel, £11 3s Qd, up to August 1, 1775. XIV, IO4. 
Residence, Peterborough. XIV, IO4, 106. On a roster of 
officers of the First Battalion of New Hampshire troops in 
the Continental Army, dated April, 1777. Rank, First 
Lieutenant in Captain Isaac Farwell's company. XIV, 553. 
On muster and pay roll as First Lieutenant of same company 
in Colonel John Stark's regiment, dated Walpole, 1778. 
XIV, 592. Residence, Peterborough. On a return of the 
field and staff and other commissioned officers of the First 
New Hampshire Regiment from November 8, 1776, to Jan- 
uary 1, 1780. Commissioned April 8, 1776. Resigned, 
August 23, 1778. XVI, 3; XVII, 266. Commission dated 
November 8, 1776. XVII, 266. On the rolls for service prior 
to January 1, 1780, to equalize the pay of officers and men on 
account of the depreciation of the currency, as a Lieutenant, 
and was paid |336.65. XV, 710. On September 17, 1780, 
Lieutenant Taggart petitioned the Legislature to have the 
depreciation of his pay made up to him, which was granted. 
XVII, 378. 



3G4 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

James Taggart (Private). Was born in 1738; his 
parentage and place of birth cannot be found. When he 
came to Peterborough is unknown, but he was a resident of 

the town before the Kevolution. He married Ilannah 

about 17G3 or '04. His oldest daughter, Mary Ann, who 
married Johu Temj)leton in 1783, was born in May, 1705. 
In 1789, with his wife and two sons-in-law, Solomon Dodge 
and John Templeton, he removed to Montpelier, Vt. He was 
chosen one of the Selectmen at the first election held in the 
town in March, 1791, but appears to have held no other town 
office. He died in Montpelier, November 8, 1807, aged 09 
years. His wife also died there, December 2, 1820, aged 87 
years. 

Private in Captain William Scott's company which an- 
swered the Lexington Alarm, April 20, 1775. Discharged, 
April 23d; service, three days. Ke-enlisted into the same 
company of Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment, June 
13, 1775. Discharged, December 31st; service, six months,. 
17 days. On muster roll of said company, August 1st. Re- 
ceipted for bounty coat, November 14th. Residence given 
as Conway, N. H., also Peterborough. Mass. Rolls, Vol XV, 
362 and 363. On return of said company dated October 0, 
1775. XV, 739. On pay roll of Captain Francis Towne's 
company of Colonel David Oilman's regiment from Decem- 
5, 1770, to March 8, 1777. Enlisted December 5, 1770; dis- 
charged, March 12, 1777; service, three months, eight days. 
Pay and travel, £8 10s 8d. XIV., 525. On roll of men mus- 
tered by Nathaniel Barber, Muster Master, Suffolk County, 
Mass., September 14, 1777. Captain Scott's company, Col- 
onel Henley's regiment; also Captain Fox's company, Col- 
onel Jackson's regiment. On roll of Continental Army 
accounts from September 24, 1777, to July 20, 1780, Resi- 
dence, Conway, N. H. ; also Captain Lemuel Trescott's com- 
pany detached from Colonel Henley's regiment; pay roll for 
April and May, 1778, sworn to at Providence; also Captain 
Scott's company. Colonel David Henley's regiment; on pay 
rolls for April and May, 1778, sworn to at Providence. Also, 



Personal and Military Sketches. 305 

private in Captain Scott's company, Colonel Henley's regi- 
ment; also in Captain Fox's company, Colonel Jackson's 
regiment. On muster roll for April, 1779. On muster roll 
for October, 1779, dated at Camp Providence. On pay roll 
for July, 1779. On regimental return made up to December 
31, 1779, dated Camp at Providence; enlisted September 24, 
1777, for three years; on a return certified at Camp near 
Morristown of officers and men of Colonels Lee's, Henley's and 
Sherburne's regiments, which were consolidated into a regi- 
ment under Colonel Henry Jackson, April 9, 1779. Enlisted 
September 24, 1777, for three years; rank. Corporal; resi- 
dence, Peterborough. Engaged for the town of Pembroke, 
July 20, 1777; term, three years. Reported reduced to pri- 
vate, November 14, 1778. Family reported as at Peter- 
borough. Captain Fox's company. Sixteenth, (Colonel Jack- 
son's Mass.) regiment. On pay roll for June and July, 
1780. Discharged, July 20, 1780. Mass. Rolls, Vol. XV, 
pages 362 and 363. On return of New Hampshire men in 
Colonel Henry Jackson's regiment. Date of enlistment, July 
24, 1777; term, three years; residence, Peterborough. XV, 
427. On roll of men in the Ninth Company of Colonel 
Alexander Scammel's (Third) New Hampshire regiment 
for service prior to January 1, 1780, to equalize the pay of 
officers and men on account of the depreciation of the 
currency, and was paid |163.50. XV, 733. On a similar 
roll in the same company and regiment for service in 1780, 
and was paid |44.40. XIV, 213. On a roll of New Hamp- 
shire men in Colonel Jackson's regiment, dated July 30, 
1779 (which is the date of Captain Scott's receipt to the 
State for the money), and was paid £15. XVI, 101. See 
XVI, 47. On roll of New Hampshire men in additional regi- 
ments and independent corps in War Office and dated March 
1, 1784; residence, Peterborough; regiment. Colonel Jack- 
son's. XVI, 303. December 13, 1784, he gave an order to 
Mathew Wallace for the arrears of pay still due him. 
XIII, 183. 

(A James Taggart of Hillsborough was a Corporal in 



300 Peterborough in the Revolution, 

Captain Ileury Dearborn's company under Benedict Arnold, 
which went to Quebec in the fall of 1775. XIV, 210, 2U, 
217,219,220). 



-^ John Taggart (Ensign). There were two of this name 
accredited to Peterborough for service in the Revolutionary 
War, and as in the case of the James Taggarts it is difficult 
to identify them, except by the rank stated on the military 
rolls. John Taggart, the commissioned officer, was a 
brother of James Taggart, the Lieutenant in Colonel Reed's 
regiment in 1775, and was son of John Taggart, of Teter- 
borough. History of the town says he he was born in Rox- 
bury, Mass., but there is no record of his birth there. Born 
February 11, 1750, and came with his parents two years 
later to Peterborough. His father lived on what was later 
known as the George Shedd place in the southern part of the 
town. But may later have moved to Sharon. The son John 
married Anna Eames in 1774, and removed to Dublin in 
1797, and died there November 15, 1832, aged 82 years. He 
lived in Peterborough, or Sharon, up to the date of his re- 
moval to Dublin. 

He was a member of Captain William Scott's company 
answering the Lexington Alarm, April 19, 1775; service, 
three days. Enlisted into same company of Colonel Paul 
Dudley Sargent's regiment, April 23, 1775; rank. Sergeant, 
afterward promoted to Orderly Sergeant.* Discharged, De- 
cember 31st; service, eight months, seven days. On a return 
of the same company and regiment dated October Otii, and 
reported as sick and absent. Order for bounty coat, Novem- 
ber 14th. Residence, Peterborough. Mnsfi. Rolls, Vol. XV, 
page 363. XV, 739. Ensign in Captain Joseph Parker's 
company. Colonel Isaac Wyman's regiment, raised in 1770, 
to rendezvous at Haverhill on the Connecticut River. Mus- 
to rendezvous at Haverhill on the Connecticut River. Mus- 

* See roll copied from the original in Massachusetts archives of minute men 
and pay-roll of August 1 . 1775, ante pages 87. 88, which do not give him this rank ; 
but the muster roll dated October 6, 1775, gives him the rank of sergeant. 



Personal and Military Sketches. 367 

tered and paid two months' pay, July 18, 1776; paid £8 4s 
Od. XIV, 332. Enlisted about July 1st ; served five months ; 
discharged, December, 1776. Residence in Peterborough. 
XIV, 335. 

"Received of Capt. John Taggart and Lt. Jno. McAllister 
twelve pounds as a hire or Bounty for engaging to serve in 
the Militia at Ticonderoga in Capt. Joseph Parker's Com 
pany Colo Isaac Wyman's Regiment five months which 
sum is in addition to the Bounty travel wages &c given or 
promised by the State or United States. 

Jno Taggart ye 3<i. 

July 25, 1776 

Attest. Saml Milliken" 

There was no other John Taggart in Captain Parker's 
company than the John Taggart given on the rolls as 
"Ensign." 

November 20, 1776, he signed a miemorial to the Council 
and House of Representatives, along with other officers of 
the regiment, recommending Lieutenant-Colonel Senter and 
Major Peabody of the regiment for field officers for the Third 
Battalion of troops raised by the State. XIV, J^65. This is 
the last appearance of Ensign or Lieutenant John Taggart 
upon the rolls, unless he is the same one who commanded 
a company at the Walpole Alarm. The History of Peter- 
borough, page 156, says he died at Mount Independence in 
1777, and the State Papers, Vol. XIII, page Ttlf, says that 
Lieutenant John Taggart was killed at Ticonderoga, July 7, 
1777. Both statements are in error. His tombstone is in 
the Dublin cemetery, and is inscribed with the date of his 
death — as given above. A John Taggart of Sharon com- 
manded a company at the Walpole Alarm in 1777. Service, 
five days. XV, 10k, i05. 

His pension application is as follows: 

"In 1775, in April about two or three days after the 
Alarm from Lexington, he marched to Mystic, Mass., and 
there enlisted for 8 months in Capt. William Scott's Co. Col. 
Stark's Regt. of N. H. Troops, was in the Battle of Bunker 
Hill. After the Battle of Bunker Hill Capt. Scotts Co. and 
Capt. Stiles Co. were transferred from Col. Stark's Regt. to 



3GS Peterborough in the Revolution. 

Col. Sargeut's Regt. That he was then stationed after being 
transferred at Inman's farm in (to?) Cambridge until he 
was dismissed. That he was appointed Orderly Sergeant* 
immediately after the Battle of Bunker Hill, did that duty 
and received Sergeant's pay, until January 1st, 177G, when 
he was regularly Dismissed. 

"That in the year 177G, the last of June or the first of 
July, he enlisted for 5 months to go to the "North in Capt. 
Joseph Parker's Co. Col. Isaac Wyman's Regt. of the N. H. 
Militia. That he was soon after Commissioned as Ensign 
and received the Commission sent herewith, and that he 
served as ensign through his whole Term of 5 months. That 
he marched to near Ticonderoga and was stationed on Mt. 
Independence during the whole Term. That he was there 
when the British destroyed our fleet on the Lake and re- 
mained there until the British retired toward Canada for 
Winter Quarters. 

"That his father's name was John Taggart, and that at 
the time of the above service he was known by the name of 
John Taggart Junior. That he went from Peterboro into 
both services. That the j)art of Peterboro in which he then 
lived now forms part of Sharon, and is now in the Co. of 
Hillsboro N. H. 

(Signed) John Taggart." 

The application is dated September IS, 1832. He was 
then living in Dublin. He died the same year, but the cer- 
tificate was not issued until March 8, 1833. 



John Taggart (Private). Possibly from Sharon, but 
place of birth and parentage not found. Born about 1700. 
On a roll of Peterborough men mustered by Abiel Abbott, 
Muster Master, dated December 17, 1777. Enlisted for 
three years or during the war. In Captain William Scott's 
company, Colonel Cilley's regiment. Enlisted February 15, 
1777. Paid bounty of £20, and travel, £0 8.s 10^7. XIV, 612. 
On roll of absentees from the same company and regiment, 
dated Valley Forge, January 10, 1778. Descriptive list: 
Residence, Peterborough; age, 17 years; stature, five feet, 

* The original roll of the company in the Massachusetts archives does not give 
him this rank. 



Personal and Military Sketches. 369 

five inches; light complexion; light hair; light eyes. Re- 
ported a prisoner of war in hands of the enemy. XV, JfSft. 
On the rolls of same company and regiment for equalization 
of soldiers' pay on account of depreciation of the currency, 
for service prior to January 1, 1780, by which there was due 
him, 115.16. XY , 111. He is on the roll of Peterborough 
men raised out of Colonel Enoch Hale's regiment of militia 
under orders from the Committee of Safety received April, 
1777, to recruit 119 men to serve in the Continental Army 
for three years Assigned to Captain William Scott's com- 
pany of Colonel Cilley's regiment. XIY, 577. It was under 
this enlistment that he served. He was either killed in the 
battle of July 7, 1777, or died of wounds there received while 
a prisoner of war, as there is no record of him later than 
appears in the Valley Forge roll, which is not inconsistent 
with his death in 1777. 

(There were several John Taggarts in service besides the 
private and commissioned officer from Peterborough. A 
John Taggart, accredited to Amherst, was in Captain 
Clay's company, Coloned Nathan Hale's regiment in 1777. 

XIV, 589. Another of that name was in Captain 
Samuel Cunningham's company, Colonel Enoch Hale's regi- 
ment, in Rhode Island, in 1778. Possibly from Jafifrey. 

XV, 539. A John Taggart of Jaffrey served for one year in 
Continental Army in 1779. XV, 630, 6Jf6. One of same 
name, from Hillsborough, in Captain Waifs company of 
Colonel Cilley's regiment in 1777. XV, 611 ; XIV, 572. The 
man from Amherst is probably the one found in the deprecia- 
tion rolls for service prior to 1780, in the Sixth Company of 
Colonel George Reid's regiment, XV, 723, and in a similar 
roll of same company and regiment, for service in 1780. 
Rank, Sergeant. XVI, 206. A John Taggart is also 
claimed by Stoddard for 14 days' service at Cambridge in 
1775, and for 25 days' service in the Royalton Alarm in 
1780. XVI, 839, 8J/0. The man from Amherst cannot cer- 
tainly be separated from the Hillsborough John Taggart, on 
the rolls. See XVI, 812, where a John Taggart is claimed 
25 



370 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

by Rindge. Possibly he is the man named as from Jaffrey. 
XVI, 699). 



Isaiah Taylor. Was the son of Samuel and Hannah 
(Greeley) Taylor, and was born in Marlborough, Mass., 
March 17, 1725. Came to Peterborough some time prior to 
1775. He is one of the "Sargents in the Miliaty" on the list 
with Captain Alexander Robbe's company of militia, dated 
January 10, 177G. He died in Peterborough November 1, 
1801, aged 77 years. 

Enlisted into Captain Samuel Cunningham's company of 
Colonel Enoch Hale's regiment, for service in Rhode Island, 
August 10, 1778. Wages, £5 per month. Total pay and 
travel, £11 2s. Discharged, August 28th. Service, 21 days. 
XV, 538. 



Joseph Taylor. Son of Isaiah Taylor, of the preceding 
sketch. The family came to Peterborough some time prior 
to 1775. Date of birth, 1757. Was mortally wounded at 
Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775, and died August 17, 1775. 

Private in Captain William Scott's company of Minute- 
men which answered the Lexington Alarm, April 19, 1775. 
Discharged, April 23; service, three days. Enlisted June 
13, 1775, into same company of Colonel Paul Dudley 
Sargent's regiment. Service, two months, five days. 
Also order on the Committee on Clothing, made pay- 
able to Ensign Monroe, dated Cambridge, November 18, 1775, 
and signed by Isaiah Taylor, for bounty coat or its equiva- 
lent in money due his son, said Joseph Taylor, a soldier in 
Captain William Scott's company, who died August 17, 1775. 
Residence, Peterborough. Mass. Rolls, Vol. XV, JflO, JfJfZ. 
See N. H. State Papers, XV, 739. The following is the in- 
scription on his tombstone: 

''In Memory of 

Mr Joseph Taylor 

Son of Mr Isaiah 

Taylor 



Personal and Military Sketches. 371 

of Peterborough 
In New Hampshire 
he died Aug y® 17th 1775 
Aged 18 years." 
The stone was found a few years ago while excavating 
for a new building on Channing Street, near Mount Auburn, 
in Cambridge, Mass, There was an old military hospital 
near Channing Street, and to this place many of the wounded 
Americans were taken after the battle. The bones of many 
of the soldiers who died were found near the site of the hos- 
pital. Dr. Samuel S. Green, who graduated from Harvard 
Medical College fifty years ago, remembers hearing this 
tradition. 



John Todd. Was the son of Samuel and Hannah (Mor- 
ison) Todd, and was born in Peterborough, April 9, 1757. 
(He says in his pension application that he was born in 
Londonderry, April 9, 1755). ^Mien eight years old he went 
to Londonderry and resided in the family of John Bell until 
the beginning of the Kevolution, though he claims that he 
was living in Peterborough. After the war he returned to 
Peterborough, where he died, October 27, 1846, aged 89 years 
and five months. Married Rachel Duncan in 1783. who 
died April 26, 1815. Second wife, Jane Annan, whom he 
married January 1, 1817. On April 10, 1776, he was mus- 
tered into Captain Nathan Brown's company of Colonel 
David Oilman's regiment, and was paid £2. XTV, 299. Date 
of enlistment and discharge not given. This regiment was 
raised by a vote of the Assembly, March 12, 1776. VIII. 8Jf. 
It was stationed in and about Portsmouth, and the soldiers 
served six months. December 5, 1776, he enlisted into 
Captain Samuel McConnell's company of Colonel David 
Oilman's regiment, raised to reinforce the Continental 
Army. Discharged, March 15, 1777. Paid wages and 
travel, £9 is Sd. Length of service, three months and eleven 
days. XIV. 538. Was paid wages advanced, £3, and was 
allowed £2 8s for billeting. XIV, 458. In 1777, on June 



372 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

29th, he enlisted into Captain Gershom Drury's com- 
pany of Lieutenant-Colonel Heald's battalion raised to 
reinforce the army at Ticonderoga. Discharged, July 
12th; service, fourteen days. Paid £2 2s wages, and 
£1 16s for travel; total, £3 18s. XV, 95. He also en- 
listed September 29, 1777, into the same Captain 
Drury's company, Colonel Daniel Moore's regiment, and 
was discharged October 26th ; term, 28 days. Was paid £6 
18s Sd. XV, 36J/. He re-enlisted October 16, 1777; dis- 
charged, November 16, 1777. XVII, 101. Was a private in 
Captain Daniel Runnells's (Reynolds) company of Colonel 
Moses Nichols's regiment, raised for the Bennington Cam- 
paign. Enlisted July 20, 1777. Discharged, September 
28th. Service, two months, nine days; wages per month, £4 
10s. Total wages and travel, £13 2s lOd XV, 201, 
For this last service he is accredited to Temple on the rolls. 
His other enlistments were on account of Peterborough. 
There was a John Todd from Goffstown, mustered July 22, 
1776, in Colonel Wingate's regiment. XIV, 358. 
In his application for pension he says : 

"That in the spring A. D. 1776, he engaged to go to Ports- 
mouth N. H. for 6 months. He enlisted in Capt. Nathan 
Brown's Co of Poplin, Lieut Joseph Aiken, Col. Daniel Gil- 
man's Regt. of Pembroke. He joined the Co. in London- 
derry, marched to New Castle, where they were encamped, 
and they built a Fort, and where he remained with his Co 
until he Served out his Term of 6 months and was regularly 
Discharged. 

"In the fall of A. D. 1776 he engaged to go to New York 
for three months. He enlisted in the Co of Capt McConnell 
under Lieut James Hopkins of Londonderry. lie proceeded 
in company with about ten others to Peekskill, where he 
joined the co. commanded by Lieut Hopkins, His Captain 
never appeared in Camp, nor any Field oflEicers belonging to 
N. H. His Company was attached to Penn. Troops Com- 
manded by Gen McDougle, where he did duty, was on guard, 
and sent out on scouts until his Term of 3 months expired, 
and he was Discharged at Peekskill and returned. 

"In July, 1777, he agreed to go with Gen. Stark to the 



Personal and Military Sketches. 373 

Northern Frontier lie believes the engagement was for 2 
months. He enlisted under Capt Russell and he believes 
he marched on the 18th of July to Charleston, N. H., and 
then proceeds to Bennington where he was in the Battle, 
after which he went to Saratoga where he remained several 
days and was then dismissed, and returned home having 
served 2 months." 

The following interrogations were propounded by the 
Court before whom the application was made : 
"1. Where and what year were you born? 

"In Londonderry, April 9, 1755. 
"2. Any record of age? Where? 

"No family record, but age is recorded in London- 
derry. 
"3. Where living when Called to Service? Since Revo- 
lution ? Now ? 
"Peterboro, and have continued there. 
"4. How served, as Volunteer? Drafted? Substitute? 

"Volunteer. 
"5. State names of officers recollected. 

"Saw Gen. McDougle and some Penn. officers. 
"6. State names of persons to whom you are known. 

"Jon Smith — Samuel Smith and Scott. 

(Signed) John Todd's mark." 

The application is dated August 27, 1832. 

(A John Todd served in Captain William Barron's com- 
pany of Colonel Gilman's regiment. Mustered July 22, 
1776. Paid bounty and one month's pay and travel in ad- 
vance. XIV, 358. Probably he was the man from Peter- 
borough ) . 



Samuel Treadwell. Born in Portsmouth, N. H., Oc- 
tober 4, 1711, and came to Peterborough about 1777. Married 
Mary Stoodley April 10, 1761, who died October 4, 1771. 
Second wife, Mary McKeen, widow of James McKeen; 
married in Temple, May 1, 1777. He died in Peterborough, 
December 13, 1819, aged 78 years. History Peterborough, 
Genealogies, page 319. 

Private in Captain William Scott's company which an- 
swered the Lexington Alarm, April 19, 1775. Service, three 



374 Peterhormigh in the Revolution. 

days. Enlisted into Captain William Scott's company, of 
Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment, April 23, 1775. On 
pay roll of company, August 1st, and on return of company, 
October 6th. Gave order for bounty coat or its equivalent 
in money, December 28, 1775. Discharged, December 31st. 
Service, eight months, seven days. Mass. Rolls, XVI, 9 and 
35. N. H. State Papers, XV, 739. 

(There was a Samuel Treadwell from Portsmouth en- 
listing into Captain Jonathan Whitcomb's company of 
Colonel James Reed's regiment, April 23, 1775. Served till 
December 31st — eight months, seven days. He also enlisted 
as Armourer on May 2. XIV, 93 and 94- On pay roll of 
August 1, and receipted for bounty coat, or its equivalent in 
money, October 13, 1775. XIV, 202 and 203. Also a 
Samuel Treadwell in Captain Noah Littlefield's company of 
Colonel Joshua Wingate's regiment, at Kittery Point. En- 
listed for four months, for the defence of Piscataqua Har- 
bor; on a return dated November 5, 1775. XIV, 239). 



John Wallace. Nothing can be found of this man 
prior to the Revolution. His name is not on any town 
record or roll, and the places and dates of his birth and 
death cannot be discovered. There were at least four differ- 
ent men of the name serving in New Hampshire commands 
during the Revolution. Whether the Peterborough soldier 
was ever a resident of the town is uncertain. The John 
Wallace wbo served for Peterborough was placed to the 
town's credit by an order of the Committee of Safety, dated 
July 12, 1782. N. H. Historical Collections, Vol. VII, page 
291. XVI, 517. This man was a private in Captain 
William Scott's company of Colonel Joseph Cilley's regi- 
ment, N. H. Line, in 1776. XIV, J,68. The roll does not 
give the name of the town. Enlisted for the war and served 
at least three years. Receipted for £20 bounty money at 
Valley Forge, April 27, 1778. XV, 653. On the rolls to 
make up soldiers' pay on account of the depreciation of the 
currency, for service prior to January 1, 1780, and was paid 



Personal and Military Sketches. 375 

1126.65. XV^ 111. On a similar roll of the same company 
and regiment for service in 1781, and was paid |63.10. XVI, 
267. Probably he was the same man of that name who was 
in service January 1, 1782, and possibly he served until the 
end of the war. See Kidder's History of First New Hamp- 
shire Regiment. 

(There was a John Wallace from Thornton, N. H., in 
Captain James Osgood's company of rangers, in Colonel 
Timothy Bedel's regiment in 1775. Enlisted, July 10th; 
discharged, December 2d. XIV, 167, 170; XVII, U. This 
man was also in service in 1777, but whether in Colonel 
Nichols's, or Colonel Stickney's, or Colonel Peabody's regi- 
ments, is uncertain. See XV, 73, 201, 175, 213. He was also 
a private in Captain Daniel Reynolds's company of Colonel 
Stephen Peabody's regiment in 1778. Enlisted February 5, 
1778; discharged, January 4, 1779. XV, 465, 467, 479, 504. 
This man was a pensioner, and was born in Londonderry, 
June 13, 1777 ; died in Thornton, N. H., June 4, 1837. There 
was another John Wallace, born in Amherst, N. H., in 1756, 
and died June 23, 1835, in Milford, N. H. A private in 
Colonel James Reed's regiment in 1775, and see XIV, 244 
and 468. His widow so claims in her application for a 
pension, but the printed rolls show no such man. He was 
also in service in 1777, but it cannot be definitely stated in 
what company or regiment. There was a John Wallace in 
Captain Stephen Peabody's company of Colonel Moses 
Nichols's regiment in 1777, enlisting June 30th, and dis- 
charged July 8. XV, 73; another in Captain Reynolds's 
company. Colonel Nichols's regiment, enlisting July 20th, 
and discharged September 28. XV, 201; another in Captain 
McConnell's company of Colonel Stickney's regiment, enlist- 
ing July 19th, and discharged September 26. XV, 175; and 
still another in Captain John Bradford's company of Colonel 
Nichols's regiment, enlisting July 19th, and discharged 
September 27th. XV, 213. There was also a John Wallace 
in Captain Henry Dearborn's company of Colonel John 
Stark's regiment in 1775. Enlisted May 2, and was dis- 



37G Peterhorough in the Revolution. 

charged, December 31st. His son, John Wallace, Jr., was 
in the same company. XIV, 69, 180. While the service of 
the Peterborough John Wallace is clear, the identity of the 
others cannot be determined.) 



Jonathan Wheelock. Was the son of Gersham and 
Abigail (Flagg) Wheelock, and was born in Shrewsbury, 
Mass., September 18, 1727. June 20, 1753, he married 
Anna, daughter of Daniel and Sarah (Flagg) Drury, of 
Shrewsbury. He removed to Peterborough in 1775. Was 
a member of the militia in 1776, and is stated to be one of 
the ''Sargents in the Miliaty." A member of the Town 
Committee of Safety in 1777, and signed the Association Test 
in 1776. Soon after the Revolution, probably about 1789 or 
1790, he removed to Cavendish, Vt., where he died in 1797, 
aged 70 years. 

He was a member of Captain Alexander Robbe's com- 
pany, which answered the Ticonderoga Alarm in 1777. En- 
listed June 29th; discharged, July 3d. Service, five days, 
and was paid £1 15s lOd XY, 101. Also enlisted into Cap- 
tain Edmund Briant's company of Colonel Daniel Moore's 
regiment, same year. Enlisted September 28, 1777; dis- 
charged, October 25th. Service, 28 days. Paid £6 19s. 
XY, 357. He enlisted into Captain Samuel Cunningham's 
company of Colonel Enoch Hale's regiment, for service in 
Rhode Island in 1778. Enlisted August 10th; discharged, 
August 28th. Service, 21 days. Paid £11 2s. XY, 53S. 
The above comprise all his enlistments. 



Jonathan Wheelock, Jr. Was the son of Jonathan 
and Anna (Drury) Wheelock, the preceding soldier, ano was 
born in Shrewsbury, Mass., February 25, 1754. Probably 
came to Peterborough with his parents in 1775. Went to 
Cavendish, Vt., about 1789 or 1790, where he lived until his 
death some time after 1820. The place and date of his mar- 
riage cannot be found. 

In his pension papers he makes claim that in the Quebec 



Personal and Military Sketches. 377 

Campaign in 1775, he had the small-pox and lost the sight 
of one eye. There are no rolls of this service in 1775. 

He is one of the men returned for Peterborough by 
Colonel Enoch Hale, under an order isued by the Committee 
of Safety in April, 1777, directing him to recruit 119 men 
for the Continental Army out of his regiment of militia. 
Enlisted in February, 1777, and served three years. As- 
signed to the company of Captain William Scott of Colonel 
Joseph Cilley's regiment. XIV, 577. Paid a bounty of £20. 

XIV, 612. On a roll of the same company and regiment 
under the name of "John Wheelock," for service prior to 
January 1, 1780, to equalize the pay of soldiers on account 
of the depreciation of the currency, and was paid $177.60. 

XV, 711. On a similar roll of the same company and regi- 
ment, under the name of "Jonathan Wheelock," for service 
in 1780, and was paid |5.50. XVI, 198. Enlisted May 1, 
1777; discharged. May 1, 1780. 

A recruit, under the name of Jonathan Wheelock and 
"Jonathan Wheelock, Jr.," for the Continental Army in 
1780, under a call dated June 5, 1780. Enlisted to the credit 
of Townsend, Mass., about July 1. Marched, July 6, under 
command of Lieutenant Jackson of the artillery. Descrip- 
tion list: Age, 25 years; stature, five feet, eight inches; 
complexion, light. Mustered as appears by a return dated 
October 25, 1780, at Camp Totoway. Discharged, December 
3, 1780. Term, five months, eight days, including time al- 
lowed for travel home, 220 miles. Mass. Rolls, Vol. XVI, 
1006, 1007. 

(The History of Swanzey claims a Jonathan Wheelock 
as a soldier who enlisted for two years in 1778 (or 1777). 
His identity, if the statement be correct, is unknown. The 
military rolls contain no one of this name answering to that 
description of service. The man in Captain Scott's company 
enlisted for three years, and was from Peterborough.) 

In his application for pension dated April 14, 1818, and 
made at Cavendish, Vt., he says : 

"I enlisted at Peterborough, State of N. H. in February 



378 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

A. D. 1777, in the Company commanded by Captain William 
Scott, in the regiment commanded of Col. Joseph 
Cilley, being the 1st Regiment on the N. H. Line. That he 
the said Jonathan Wheelock, continued to serve in said 
Corps, or in the Service of the United States, until the ex- 
piration of said Term of 3 years, when he was discharged 
from the Service at West Point, State of New York. That 
he is in reduced circumstances, and stands in need of the 
Assistance of his Country for Support, and that he has no 
other evidence now in his power of his said Service. 

(Signed) Jonathan Wheelock." 

Under the act of Congress of 1820, requiring pensioners 
to tile evidence as to their financial circumstances, after 
setting forth his military service, as above, and that his age 
is 67 years, he says : 

''That he has no income other than is contained in the 
Schedule annexed, viz. : 

1 old axe 1, 1 old hoe .30 |1.30 

1 great wheel 1, gold chain .64 5 milk pans .81 2.45 
Tea Kettle, small pot and Skillets .81, Cups 

and Saucers .25, 6 small jjlates .34 1.40 

Broken Iron Kettle .25, 2 wooden pails .34 .59 



15.74 
"And said Wheelock is owing the following debts, viz: 
To Ingalls & Fletcher, |3.40, Jacob Washburn 

2, Amos Wheeler 5.50 10.00 

To Daniel Morrison 50, Isaiah Parker 2 52 

To Zaccheus Spaulding 2.50, Silvanus Knox 2, 4.50 



167.40 
''Said Wheelock has the following Family Dependent on 
him for Support, viz. a Wife aged 67 years. He is by 
profession a Farmer but unable to labor for a considerable 
part of the time on account of a Rupture, and of the 
Phthysic, with which he is afflicted, and has lost the sight of 
one of his eyes by the Small Pox, which he received before 
Quebec in the year 1775. 

(Signed) Jonathan Wheelock. 

Dated November 25, 1820." 



Personal and Military Sketches. 379 

Lewis (or Lues) Wheelock). Was the son of Timothy 
and Sarah (Rand) Wheelock. Born, probably in Shrews- 
bury, Mass., August 19, 1763. The father removed from 
Shrewsbury to New Ipswich, N. H., some time before the 
Revolution, but about 1782 returned to Shrewsbury. Lewis 
was living in New Ipswich, N. H., at the time of his enlist- 
ment, and on his discharge from the army may have returned 
to that town. Gould's History of New Ipswich does not 
include him in the town's list of soldiers, but does include the 
name of his brother, Ithamar. The movements of Lewis 
W^heelock after the the Revolution and the place and date of 
his death cannot be definitely ascertained If living in 1790 
he was not a resident of this State or Massachusetts. 

He enlisted into Captain Benjamin Spaulding's company 
of Colonel Moses Nichols's regiment, July 7, 1780; dis- 
charged, October 21st. Term, three months, 15 days. Pay 
per month, £134. Wages, rations, subsistence and travel, 
£610 6s. (Ratio was 67 to 1). XVI, 160. 



Charles White. Was the son of John White and Mary 
(Wallis) White. John White was a brother of Patrick 
White who came from Lunenburg to Peterborough between 
1757 and 1762. Charles was born in Lunenburg, February 
5, 1749. Married Sarah Gray. He was living in Peter- 
borough in 1790, and afterward removed to Belmont, Maine, 
where he was living in 1827. Place and date of death 
unknown. 

A Corporal in Captain William Scott's company which 
answered the Lexington Alarm, April 19, 1775. Service, 
three days. Enlisted into Captain William Scott's company 
of Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment, April 23, 1775. 
Rank, Corporal. On pay roll of same company and regiment 
dated August 1, 1775, and on company return dated October 
6th, same year. Gave order for bounty coat November 14, 
1775. Discharged, December 31st. Service, eight months, 
seven days. Mass. Rolls, Vol. XVII, page 53. N. E. State 
Papers, XV, 739. On his discharge he immediately re-en- 



380 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

listed, served one year, and was discharged at Peekskill, N. 
Y., when he again re-enlisted and was Sergeant in Captain 
Francis Towne's company of Colonel David Oilman's regi- 
ment, raised to reinforce the army in New York, in 1776. 
Enlisted December 5, 1776; mustered December 20th. Dis- 
charged, March 12, 1777. Service, three months, eight days. 
I'aid in advance at enlistment, £3 S^v, and travel, £1 18s -id. 
XIV, 436. Total pay and travel, £9 17s. XIV, 524. A Cor- 
poral in Captain Samuel Cunningham's company of Colonel 
Enoch Hale's regiment, raised for service in Rhode Island 
in 1778. Enlisted August 10; discharged, August 28th. 
Service, 21 days. Wages, £5 5s per month. Total pay and 
travel, £11 5s 6d. XV, 538. 

In his application for pension he says: 

"That after serving in the first 8 months service I re- 
entered into the same Capt. Scott's Co. and Col. John Stark's 
Regt. in the war of the Rev. against the Common Enemy, 
upon the Continental Establishment. I re-eulisted December 
1775, at Cambridge, Mass., for the period of one year, which 
period I fully served, and was Discharged at Peekskill in the 
State of New York the last of December 1776, at the re- 
quest of my Officers I continued in Service at Peekskill 2 
months longer when I received a final Discharge from the 
Service. 

''I am poor and in Indigent Circumstances, having no 
Property except a few Shoemaker's tools, and I request to 
be placed on the Pension Roll of the State of Maine." 
Schedule op Property 

"No Real Estate — no Personal Property except a few 
Shoemaker's tools not exceeding |3.00 in value. I have not 
owned any Real Estate whatever for ten years last past, nor 
any Personal I'roperty except my Shoemaker's tools and what 
I have earned by my daily labor. I am by occupation a 
Shoemaker, and have no family, having lost my wife about 
three years since, and live with one of my sons. I am unable 
to pursue my Occupation by reason of rheumatism and old 
age but part of the time. 

(Signed) Charles White." 

In a second declaration, filed a year later, he reiterated 
the same facts. The original application is dated March 
28, 1825. 



Personal and Military Sketches. 381 

The service, as above told, differs from the rolls in that 
it does not mention his enlistment into Captain Cunning- 
ham's company, but there is no doubt that the Peterborough 
Charles White is the man enlisting into that organization. 
There was another of the name of Charles White in Wal- 
lack's Artillery, a musician, XXX, 216. There are no 
existing rolls of this service. This Charles White was not 
allowed a pension until February 12, 1832. There was a 
Charles White on the pension rolls, aged 81 years, ten years 
younger than the Peterborough soldier, living in Westmore- 
land, N. H., in 1840. His identity is not known, but he was 
not the Charles White of Peterborough. 



David White. Was the son of Patrick and Jane 
(White) White, and was born in Lunenburg, Mass., Septem- 
ber 17, 1758. His father came to Peterborough about 1778. 
The son may have been there earlier. Married Betsy Miller, 
and for second wife, Sally Button. He owned and operated 
a grist mill for many years, and died in Peterborough, 
September 25, 1843, aged 84 years. 

Enlisted into Captain William Scott's company which 
answered the Lexington Alarm, April 19, 1775. Service, 
three days. Re-enlisted into Captain William Scott's com- 
pany of Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment, April 23, 
1775. On pay roll of same company and regiment dated 
August 1st, and on a return of same, October 6th. Receipted 
for bounty coat, December 28th. Discharged, December 31, 
1775. Service, eight months, 7 days. Mass. Rolls, Vol. 
XVII, page 59. N. E. State Papers, XV, 739. Private in 
Captain Samuel Cunningham's company of Colonel Enoch 
Hale's regiment, raised for the defence of Rhode Island in 
1778. Enlisted August 10, 1778. Wages, £5 10.s per month. 
Total pay and travel, £11 2s. Discharged, August 28th. 
Service, 21 days. XV, 538. 

(There was a David White in Captain Thomas Pry's 
company of Colonel Moses Hazen's regiment in 1779. En- 
listed for the war. Residence, unknown. XVII, 296.) 



382 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

James White. Son of Patrick and Jane (White) 
White, and was born in Lunenburg, Mass., June 0, 1756. 
Arrived in Peterborough about the beginning of the Kevo- 
lution. After the war he removed to Colerain, Mass., where 
he died, date unknown. 

Enlisted into Captain Stephen Parker's company of 
Colonel Moses Nichols's regiment, July 19, 1777; discharged, 
September 20th. Service, two months, eight days. Wages, 
£4 10s per month. Total pay and travel, £10 18s Gd. XV, 
221. Enlisted into Captain Samuel Cunningham's company, 
Colonel Enoch Hale's regiment, for service in Khode Island, 
August 10, 1778; discharged, August 28th; service, 21 days. 
Wages, £5 10s per month. Total pay and ti*avel, £11 2s. 
XV, 538. 

(A James White, of Durham, was a private in Captain 
Beale's company of Colonel Enoch Poor's regiment 
in 1776. Enlisted March 2d ; deserted, March 5, 1776. XIV, 
308, Jf85; also a James White, of Portsmouth, mustered into 
Captain Zachariah Beale's company of Colonel Alexander 
Scammel's regiment, for three years, January 27, 1777. Paid 
a bounty of £20. XIV, 6^7; XV, 595. Died January 20, 
1778. XIV, 650; XV, 595, 728. These enlistments may 
refer to the same man.) 

(A James White in Lieutenant-Colonel Dearborn's com- 
pany. Colonel Alexander Scammel's battalion. Enlisted 
January .3, 1777; died July 25, 1778. XVI, 13. A James 
White was in Captain Dearing's Artillery company in 1776. 
Enlisted September 2d; discharged, December 7th. XVII, 
86.) 



John White, Sr. Son of Patrick and Jane (White) 
White. Born in Lunenburg, Mass., December 5, 1742. 
Came to Peterborough about 1770. Married Hannah Miller. 
Settled in the southeast part of the town, near Cunningham 
Pond. He was a patriotic, useful citizen. Died January 11, 
1823, aged 79 years. 



Personal and Military Sketches. 383 

Enlisted into Captain Alexander Robbe's company which 
ansAv^red the Ticonderoga Alarm in 1777. Enlisted, June 
29th; discharged, July 3d. Service, five days. Total pay 
and travel, £1 15s lOd XV^ 101. He is probably the same 
man enlisting into Captain Josiali Brown's company of 
Colonel Enoch Hale's regiment of militia, called out to rein- 
force the army at Ticonderoga in the spring of 1777. En- 
listed May 8, 1777; discharged, June 24. Service, 46 days. 
Amount of pay and travel, etc., £6 16s 8(Z. XV, 21. Also 
the same man, a Corporal, in Captain Edmund Briant's com- 
pany of Colonel Daniel Moore's regiment. Enlisted Septem- 
ber 28, 1777 ; discharged, October 25th. Term, 28 days. Re- 
ceived pay and travel, £7 2s M. XV, 355. 

(There were several John Whites in service. One a private 
in Lieutenant Samuel Nichols's company of Colonel Benja- 
min Bellows's regiment, in June (29th), 1777. Service, four 
days. XV, 35. Another, at the same time, June 29-July 
11th, in Captain Cole's company. Colonel Ashley's regiment. 
XV, 48. There was a John White, of Portsmouth, in Cap- 
tain Beale's company, enlisting out of Colonel Wentworth's 
regiment of militia, for the war, in 1779, XV, 595, and the 
same man named as from Portsmouth, age 46 years, in XVI, 
61, 64, 71 and 94, and in XIV, 648. The last enlistment was 
April 21, 1777. Also, a John White claimed to have served 
to the credit of Stoddard. Enlisted September 1, 1779, for 
the war. XV, 630, 643, 646. See XVI, 520, 840, 841. A John 
White enlisted September, 1779, for Londonderry (probably 
same man) for the war. XVI, 720, 724. Another John 
White, of Candia, returned by Colonel John Webster Sep- 
tember 25, 1779. XV, 694. A John White enlisted into the 
Continental Army, October 18, 1782. This man was claimed 
by Epping. XVI, 287, 505. A Dr. John Wliite was surgeon 
in Colonel Ashley's regiment in 1777. XVII, 96. The iden- 
tity of these men is not certified to, further than that none 
of them was the John White, Sr., of Peterborough.) 

(A man of same name, a Lieutenant, in Captain Greene's 
company of Colonel Timothy Bedel's regiment in 1776. 



384 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

XIV, 269. Enlisted January 22, 1776. XIV, 210, 289, 295. 
A John White was private in Captain Ephraim Stone's com- 
pany of Colonel Mooney's regiment in 1779, for service in 
Ehode Island. Enlisted July 9, 1779. Served, six months, 
seven days. XV, 681.) 

(A John White, of Westmoreland, N. H., enlisted into 
Captain Jacob Hinds's company of Colonel James Reed's 
regiment, May 2, 1775, and was discharged December 31st. 
Service, seven months, 29 days. XIV, 85, 199. This is the 
same man on the rolls of Captain Timothy Barron's com- 
pany of Colonel Bedel's regiment. Service, one year. XV, 
593. In his application for pension, he claims he entered 
Captain Carlisle's company, but his name is not on the rolls 
of Carlisle's company. This man went to Wicasset, Maine, 
w^here he died November 21, 1825. It is impossible from the 
rolls to identify the different John Whites, or give with cer- 
tainty the services of the individual men who bore that 
name.) 



John White, Jr. The son of John White, who was the 
brother of Patrick \^^lite. Born in Lunenburg, INIass., De- 
cember 13, 1748. Married Elizabeth Smith, daughter of 
John Smith, of Peterborough. Was tithing man in 1777, 
1801 and 1802. Selectman in 1787. Died January 15, 1818, 
at Peterborough, aged 70 years. 

Enlisted for service in Rhode Island in 1770, being one 
of the sixteen men recruited out of Colonel Enoch Hale's 
regiment of militia, July 9, 1779. He was assigned to 
Captain Ephraim Stone's company of Colonel Hercules 
Mooney's regiment. Bounty, £30; for travel to Providence, 
£10. XVI, 793. Wages per month, £12. Subsistence 
money £12 10s. Total pay and allowances, £144 14s. Dis- 
charged, January 16, 1780. Service, six months, seven days. 
XV. 66/,, 665, 671. 

It may be that some of the enlistments given in paren- 
thesis "( )," under sketch of John \^Tiite, Sr., should be 



Personal and Military Sketches. 385 

accredited to John White, Jr., but there is nothing in the 
rolls to identify the men there named, with him. The rolls 
are so incomplete, and there were so many of the name in 
the army that it is impossible to state the service of the 
Peterborough John White, Jr., with much confidence. 



William White. Son of Patrick and Jane (White) 
White, born in Lunenburg, Mass., January 7, 1750. Un- 
certain when he came to Peterborough, but it was probably 
before the war, for he was a member of Captain Alexander 
Robbe's militia company, January 10, 1776. Married Betsey 
Shearer of Palmer, June 12, 1776. Died in Peterborough, 
March 10, 1837, aged 87 years. 

Enlisted into Captain Francis Towne's company of 
Colonel David Gilman's regiment, December 5, 1776. Paid 
advance wages and travel, £4 18s id. XIV, JfS6. Dis- 
charged, March 12, 1777. Term, three months, eight days. 
On service in New York. The regiment was in the battles 
of Trenton and Princeton. Total wages and travel, £8 10s 
M. XIV, 524, 525. Private in Captain Edmund Briant's 
company of Colonel Daniel Moore's regiment which marched 
from New Ipswich to join the American Army at Stillwater 
in September, 1777. Enlisted September 28th; discharged, 
October 25th. Service, 27 days. Wages, £4 10s per month. 
Total pay and travel, £6 19s. XV, 357. There is no record 
of his service at Cambridge in 1775 on any roll. 

(There was a William White, of Washington, returned 
by Colonel Enoch Hale under an order to recruit 119 men 
for the Continental Army, in April, 1777. In Captain 
William Scott's company. Colonel Cilley's regiment. XIV, 
576, 61S. Descriptive list: Residence, Washington; 
age, 24 years; stature, six feet; complexion, eyes and hair 
light; absent, sick. XV, J,3/f, 711: XVI, 198. Also a Wil- 
liam White, from Chester, in Captain Emerson's company, 
Colonel Cilley's regiment. A three years' man. Paid a 
bounty of £20. XIV, 583, 600, 613; XV, 715. There was 

26 



386 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

also a William White, Lieutenant, in Captain Titus Salter's 
company at Fort Washington, near Portsmouth, in 1777. 
XVII, 135. A William White served for New Boston in 
Captain William Boyes's company, Colonel Reynolds's regi- 
ment, in 1781. XVII, 426.) 



Samuel Wier. A colored man (see Eiddei^s History 
First Neiv Hampshire Regiment) , status unknown, as is also 
the place and date of his birth and death. He disappears 
absolutely with his discharge from the army in 1780. 

He is one of the men returned for the town of Jaflfrey, by 
Colonel Enoch Hale, under an order issued by the Committee 
of Safety', dated April, 1777, directing him to recruit 119 
men for the Continental Army out of his regiment of militia. 
Assigned to Captain William Scott's company. Colonel 
Joseph Cilley's regiment. XIV, 576. Enlisted May 18, 1777. 
On a roll of absentees from Colonel Cilley's regiment dated 
at Valley Forge, January 10, 1778. Descriptive list: Resi- 
dence, Peterborough; age, 30 years; stature, five feet, eight 
inches; hair, black; complexion, dark; eyes, light. Re- 
ported at Albany, wounded. XV, 43J/. On roll of same 
company and regiment for service prior to January 1, 1780, 
to equalize the pay of soldiers on account of the depreciation 
of the currency, and was paid |167.30. XV, 711. On a 
similar roll for service in 1780, and was paid |30.60. XVI, 
198. Discharged, May 18, 1780. There is no information 
as to the place and date of the battle in which he received 
his wound. Probably either in that of September 19th, or 
in that of October 7, 1777. Served for Jaffrey; residence, 
Peterborough. 



Thomas Williams. Was born in Shirley, Mass., July 
10, 1763. He was the son of William and Mary (Perkins) 
Williams. The family removed from Shirley to Hancock, 
N. H., in 1779. He was a hired recruit. He died, unmar- 
ried, probably in Hancock, on a date unknown. 

Enlisted into Captain Ephraim Stone's company of Major 



Personal and Military Sketches. 387 

Whitcomb's rangers, for service on the Northern Frontier, in 
July, 1780. Enlisted January 28, 1780. Age, 18 years. 
Balance due by pay roll, wages £649 7s — reduced to good 
money, £9 13s lOd; interest from January 1, 1781, 7s 2d. 
XVI, 168. Peterborough made a claim on the State for £75 
for travel money paid him on this service. XVI, 193, 878. 
In April, 1782, Captain Stone certified that he had paid him 
£277 155. XVI, 878; XIII, 666. He is on a muster roll of 
Captain Othniel Thomas's company of Colonel Daniel Rey- 
nolds's regiment. Enlisted September 28, 1781; deserted, 
November 28, 1781. Service accredited to Hancock. XVII, 
Jf29. In 1782 the town of Hancock voted to pay him |20 
above his wages for service in the army, which indicates that 
after his discharge from the army he returned to that town, 
which was his place of residence. 

(A Thomas Williams of Greenland, N. H., born July 29, 
1763, served in Colonel Joseph Cilley's regiment in 1780, 
Enlisted June 28, 1780. . Descriptive list : Age, 18 years ; 
height, five feet, four inches ; complexion, dark. XVI, 61, 6If, 
72, 92, 107, 507. Attached to Captain Nathaniel Hutchins's 
company of Colonel Cilley's regiment. XXX, 535. En- 
listed June 26, 1780; discharged, December 24, 1780. 
XXX, 538. Also a private at West Point in 1781. Mus- 
tered, September 3d; discharged, December 4th. XVI, 
257. This Thomas Williams removed to Vermont after the 
war, and died in Bethel, Windsor County, Vt., July 22, 1836. 
He married Olive Greene, November 28, 1784, at "Pepperell- 
borough" (Peterborough?), N. H. He was a United States 
pensioner. 



James Wilson. Signed the Association Test in 1776, and 
was a member of Captain Alexander Robbe's company of 
militia, January 13th of same year. Other than these 
records there is little information concerning him. He was 
the son of Hugh Wilson, and was born in Londonderry about 
1750. Peterborough Genealogies, pages 360, 361, says he 
married Martha Taggart, daughter of Heeland Taggart, and 



388 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

that he died of small-pox in Canada in 1798. It is not 
known when he left town. Probably came to Peterborough 
with his parents in 1752 or 1753. 

Mustered into Captain Joseph Parker's company of 
Colonel Isaac Wyman's regiment, July 18, 177G, and was 
paid £G bounty, and £4 2s for one month's pay and travel in 
advance. XIV^ 333. Discharged first of following Decem- 
ber. Service, five and one-half months. Joined the Ameri- 
can Army at Ticonderoga. The regiment was ordered to 
rendezvous at Haverhill on the Connecticut River. He 
may have served other enlistments. 

(A James Wilson served one and one-half months in 
Colonel Jonathan Chace's regiment in the spring of 1777. 
XV, 16. One of the same name in Captain Jesse Wilson's 
company of Colonel Moses Nichols's regiment, two months 
in summer of 1777^ XV, 228, and another in Captain Porter 
Kimball's company of Colonel Gilman's regiment, in the 
autumn of 1777. XV, 283. Also same name on rolls of 
Captain Zebulon Gilman's company. Colonel Stephen 
Evans's regiment, in the fall of 1777. XV, 288. A James 
Wilson was also in Captain Peter Clarke's company of 
Colonel Daniel Moore's regiment in the fall of 1777. XV, 
351, 353. Served for New Boston, XVI 753. Some of 
these enlistments may have been by the Peterborough James 
Wilson, but the fact cannot be determined from the rolls.) 

(A Lieutenant James Wilson, of Stoddard, served thir- 
teen days in Captain Wright's company of Lieutenant- 
Colonel Heald's detachment in 1777, XV. 99. 103; and in 
Captain Lewis's company of Colonel Daniel Moore's regi- 
ment in the autumn of the same year. XV, 360; XVI, 840. 
A James Wilson was in Captain Joseph Dearborn's company 
of Colonel Isaac Wyman's regiment in 1776. XIV, 328. 
Another from Londonderry was in Captain Lovejoy's com- 
pany at Portsmouth Harbor in 1779. XV, 698; XVI, 720. 
James Wilson, of Greenland, enlisted into Captain James 
Gray's company of Colonel Alexander's Scammel's regi- 
ment, April 28, 1777, for three years. Paid a bounty of £20. 



Personal and Military Sketches. 389 

XIV, 659; XV, 597; XVI, 888. A James Wilson also en- 
listed into Captain Ebenezer Frye's company of Colonel 
Joseph Cilley's regiment, in February, 1777, for three years. 
Paid a bounty of £20. XIV, 605; XV, 116; XVI, 201, and 
one, from Plainfield, in Colonel Jonathan Chace's regiment, 
from October 28, 1776, to November 18, 1776—20 days. 
XVII, 109.) 



Robert Wilson. For a sketch of his ancestry, early life, 
and service in the French and Indian War, see ante, page 
13. One of the foremost citizens of Peterborough until his 
death on December 25, 1790, at the age of 57 years. A 
Selectman in 1765 and 1771 ; Town Treasurer in 1785, 1786, 
1787 and 178S, and member of the Committee of Safety in 
1776. He was appointed Coroner for Hillsborough County 
in 1785. A Lieutenant in the militia in 1771, and Captain 
in 1775. Was appointed Major of Colonel Enoch Hale's 
regiment of militia, by the Fourth Provincial Congress, on 
November 2, 1775. VII, 6U. He was on the staff of 
General Stark, and took part in the battle of Bennington, 
and in the subsequent campaign at Saratoga and Stillwater, 
and in the battles of September 19th and October 7, 1777. 
The night after the battle of Bennington he commanded the 
guard having charge of the prisoners taken in the action. 
The duration of his service in the Revolution cannot be 
stated. He commanded the company which left Peter- 
borough on the morning of April 19, 1775, for Cambridge, 
and which marched as far as Groton or Concord, when part 
of the men returned and the rest kept on to Cambridge. 
For this service he and his men, presumably those who re- 
turned, were allowed £63 5s lid. XVI, 527. He was sent 
on with the Bennington prisoners to Boston, and his family 
being ill he did not immediately rejoin his regiment. In 
1778, in applying for pay and allowances for his subsequent 
service, he filed the following petition, which explains the 
reason of his delay: 



390 Peterhorough in the Revolution. 

'Teterborougii^ Feby 9th 1778. 
^^ To' the Hon^^^ Cotincil and Assembly for the State of New 
Hampshire, 

"The Petition of Robert Wilson of Peterborough in the 
County of Hillsborough and State of New Hampshire 
Showeth : 

"That your Petitioner was ordered by Col. Enoch Hale 
Esq (Coll. of the Regiment) to proceed to Bennington in 
Order to make a Stand against the Enemy that was advanc- 
ing on the Frontiers of this and the Neighboring States. That 
your Petitioner received said Order on the Fourth of October 
that your I'etitioner's family was then sick, that his fields 
lay Exposed to ruin, and that it was not possible for your 
Petitioner to hire a Person Capable to Take the Care of his 
then sick family Corn &c. That your petitioner Tryed his 
Utmost endeavors to proceed according to his Orders before 
the Ninth of said October at which Time Your Petitioner 
Left his said family- &c (without being able to get a person 
to Take the Care of them), that your Petitioner proceeded 
as fast as Possible to Bennington aforesaid from which said 
place the Militia had moved forward. That your Petitioner 
followed without delay in order to join them, that your Pe- 
titioner came to where they were, But finding Coll^. Daniel 
Moore of Bedford had Taken the Command and that he had 
appointed Two gents (who went out as Captains), to the 
command as Majours which Took the rank which your Pe- 
titioner Tho't himself entitled to. That your Petitioner 
joined other Volunteers. That your l*etitioner was dismist 
with others after the Conquest of General Burgoine and his 
Army. That your Petitioner Proceeded homeward as fast 
as I'ossible. Your Petitioner Therefore pray your Honours 
Allowance for his Time Travel Ikii and your Petitioner will 
ever pray &c. 

Robert Wilson, Major." 

Yol. Ill, State Archives, page 110. 

This petition was accompanied by the following certifi- 
cate: 

"To the Hon^^^ Council & Assembly at Exeter for the State of 
New Hampshire. 

"Gentlemen as Major R. Wilson was by your Authority 
Called upon to Join the Militia at Still Water under the 
Command of Genl Whipple & not Attending According to 



Personal and Military Sketches. 391 

order this may Certify to Yr Honors that his family was 
much indisposed at the time. 

William Smith J. P. 

Peterborough Feb^ lOtli 1778." 

XIII, 182. 



Titus Wilson. Was a colored man, but whether bond or 
free at the time of his enlistment there is no information. 
Nor is residence nor place and date of birth known. His 
name is not on the roll of Captain Alexander Robbe's com- 
pany of militia in January, 1776, which tends to show 
either that he was a slave or then a resident of some other 
town. 

He is one of the men returned for Peterborough by 
Colonel Enoch Hale, under an order issued by the Com- 
mittee of Safety, in April, 1777, directing him to recruit 119 
men for the Continental Army. Assigned to Captain 
William Scott's company of Colonel Joseph Cilley's regi- 
ment. XIV, 577. Date of muster returned December 17, 
1777. Paid a bounty of £20, and 8s lOd for travel. XIV, 
612. On a roll of absentees from Colonel Cilley's regiment, 
dated at Valley Forge, January 10, 1777. Descriptive list: 
"Residence, Peterborough; age, 30 years; stature, five feet, 
11 inches; complexion, black; color of hair, black; color of 
eyes, 'yaller;' reported a prisoner and absent with 'ye 
enemy.'" XV, 434. Enlisted April 1, 1777. He is not 
again heard from, and probably being either sick or 
wounded, died a prisoner. Captured in the fight of July 7, 
1777, near Ticonderoga, He is on the rolls for the equaliza- 
tion of the soldiers' pay on account of the depreciation of 
the currency, for service prior to January 1, 1780, and there 
was due him |10.70. XV, 711. This was the amount due 
him by the roll up to July 7, 1777. His name disappears 
from all records after the battle of July 7, except as above 
stated. 



Michael Woodcock. Was a resident of the town before 
1775, and held a minor town office that year and in 1778. 



392 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

Was a member of Captain Alexander Robbe's company of 
militia in 177G. Date and place of birth and death not 
found. Like many others, and ^^^th great regret it is said, 
he disappears from view absolutely with the termination of 
his military service. His name is not signed to the Associa 
tion Test. The diary of Dr. Osgood i*ecords a professional 
visit to one Woodcock in 1795. Whether it was to the sol- 
dier is uncertain. 

He was a member of Captain William Scott's company 
which answered the Lexington Alarm, April 19, 1775. Ser- 
vice, three days. Re-enlisted into Captain William Scott's 
company of Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment, April 
23, 1775. On pay roll of same company and regiment, 
August 1st, and on return of same, dated October 6. Re- 
ceipted for bounty coat, November 14. Discharged December 
31, 1775. Service, eight months, seven days. Mass. Rolls, 
Vol. XVII, page 823. N. H. State Papers, Vol. XV, 739. 
Private in Captain Samuel Cunningham's company of Col- 
onel Enoch Hale's regiment, on service in Rhode Island in 
1778. Enlisted August 10th; discharged, August 28th. 
Service, 21 days. Wages, £5 10s per month. Total pay 
and travel, £11 2s. XV, 538. On roll of Captain Othniel 
Thomas's company of Colonel Daniel Runnells's (Reynolds) 
regiment in 1781. Enlisted September 21st; marched Oc- 
tober 29th; discharged, about December 25, 1781. Exact 
date of discharge not given. XVII, 42^- No roll of his 
service, if any, in 1776 is found. 



Dr. John Young. Was born in Worcester, January 21, 
1739. His early education was probably limited. He 
studied his profession with one Dr. Green, of Worcester, and 
began practice in I'elham, Mass., where he resided for a 
brief period, during which time he married and buried his 
wife. Returning to Worcester he married a second time — 
Elizabeth Smith, and came to Peterborough about 1701. 
He was Moderator of the town meetings in 1765, '66, '68, '69, 
'83, '84 and in 1785— seven years. Selectman in 1765, '66, 



Personal and Military Sketches. 393 

'68, '74 and 1784 — five years. Dr. Young was an influential 
man and active in public affairs of the town for 25 years. 
He was a good physician for that day and had the confidence 
of the people as such. He was the first physician in town, 
and the only one down to 1788 (when Dr. Kendall Osgood 
came), and practiced according to the customs of the day. 
Heavy doses, and many of them, of the most repulsive medi- 
cines, administered without palliatives and in the raw state, 
were the rule. One of his remedies was Unguentum Apos- 
tolorum — the ointment of the Apostles — composed of just 
twelve different substances, and was a favorite application. 
He made no pretensions to surgery and never operated if 
he could avoid it, but he purged, bled, blistered, plastered 
and poulticed with a freedom and frequency which would 
make the modern phj^sician tremble for the patient's life. 
But he was faithful to his professional duty, and never 
ignored a call on account of distance or weather. In the 
winter season he sometimes treated cases, for periods cover- 
ing many weeks, in the town of Rindge, twelve miles distant, 
when he had to make the trips on snow shoes. He believed 
in the power of the seventh son to cure diseases by the effi- 
cacy of his touch. It was his testimony that infant children 
afflicted with scrofulous affections and tumors, which had 
baffled all medical aid, had received almost immediate and 
effectual relief by the touch of the seventh son. It was his 
opinion that the age of the patient made it certain that the 
effects were not the result of imagination. He first charged 
eight pence per mile for travel in his visits, but later raised 
the fee to one shilling, and the patient had to pay well for 
the medicines used besides. For all this, his contemporaries 
had great confidence in his learning and skill, and one of 
his friends remarked to a successor in the healing art, that 
^'he would give more for Dr. Young's old shirt stuffed with 
straw and the wig on, than for the whole present race of 
doctors." In later years his practice declined owing to in- 
temperate habits, and on more than one occasion the town 
gave him substantial assistance. 



394 Peterborough in, the Revolution. 

He was surgeon of Colonel Moses Nichols's regiment in 
the Bennington Campaign. Commissioned July 23, 1777; 
discharged, September 27. Service, two months, four days. 
Wages, twelve shillings per day. Total pay, £31) 12s. XY, 
191, 198. Also surgeon in Colonel Stephen Peabody's regi- 
ment raised for the defence of Rhode Island and the Provi- 
dence Plantations, in 1778. Commissioned January 17, 
1778, mustered out December 30th; service, eleven months, 
fourteen days. Wages, £18 per month. XV, J/63. 

He died of cancer in the face after a long and distressing 
illness, February 12, 1807, aged 08 years, having practiced 
medicine in Peterborough 43 years. 

In 1785 he addressed the following petition to the Gen- 
eral Assembly of New Hampshire: 

The Petition of John Young op Peterborough 

"Shews That your Petitioner Serv^ a Campaign at 
Rhode iland in the Regm* Commanded by Lieut Colo pea- 
body as Surgeon in the year 1778 and your Petitioner being 
informed the Geul assembly have made an allowance to 
officers in that Regiment of Depreciation and Interest of 
their pay he therefore Prays that An allowance may be made 
to him for the same according to the Capacity in which he 
servd. 

"Dated at Peterborough Augt 20tli 1785. 

John Young." 

XIII, 183. 



In the Massachusetts Rolls the following men are stated 
to be from Peterborough, but they cannot be identified with 
the town through other records. In the New Hampshire 
Rolls, so far as they appear at all, they are assigned to other 
places. Only abstracts of the Massachusetts Rolls are given. 

John Collins. Peterborough. Private in Captain 
Joseph Butler's company of Colonel John Nixon's (First 
Mass.) regiment. Enlisted April 25, 1775; discharged, De- 
cember 31st. Service, eight months, seven days. On return 
dated at Winter Hill, September 30, 1775 ; order for bounty 



Personal and Military Shetches. 395 

coat, or its equivalent in money, December 20, 1775. Mass. 
Rolls, III, 822. The name cannot be found on any Peter- 
borough record prior to the Revolution, and who and whence 
he was are unknown, A John Collins, from Durham, N. H., 
served many enlistments, and was in the army nearly the 
whole of the war, but he is not the man serving in Colonel 
Nixon's regiment. 



James Thompson. Peterborough. Private in Captain 
William Scott's company. Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's 
regiment. Marched April 20, 1775; discharged, April 23d. 
Service, three days. 3Iass. Rolls, XV, 673. Probably the 
same man in Captain Joseph Parker's company, Colonel 
Timothy Bedel's regiment. Enlisted July 8, 1775; dis- 
charged, December 31st. Service, five months, 24 days. Paid 
wages, coat and billeting, £14 3s. XIV, 111. On roll of same 
company certified to at St. Johns, September 28, 1775. XIV, 
176, 177. May have been the same man mustered into 
Captain Ebenezer Frye's company of Colonel Joseph Cilley's 
First New Hampshire Regiment, February, 1777, for three 
years, and was paid a bounty of £20. XIV, 583, 602, 6O4. 
On roll of absentees from First New Hampshire Regiment, 
dated January 10, 1778. Residence, Amherst ; age, 23 years ; 
height, five feet, eight inches; complexion, dark; hair, dark; 
eyes, light. Reported absent without leave. XV, Jf38. On 
depreciation pay rolls for service prior to 1780, and was 
allowed $179.30, XV, 712; on a similar roll for service in 
1780, and was allowed |4.60. XVI, 199. May have served 
three months for the town of Derryfield in 1781. XVI, 735. 
Probably from Londonderry. There were others of the same 
name in the army, and it is impossible to state the service 
of each with any confidence. 



Samuel Smith. Residence, Peterborough. Private in 
Captain William Scott's company of Minute-men which 
answered the Lexington Alarm, April 19, 1775. He was 
discharged on April 23d. Service, three days. Mass. 



396 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

Rolls, XIV, 532. A Samuel Smith enlisted into Cap- 
tain Samuel Richard's comi)any of Colonel Stark's regiment, 
April 23, 1775; served till December 31, 1775. On muster 
roll of August 1, 1775, and paid £9 3s H)d. XIV, 56. Oc- 
tober 10, 1775, receipted for |4 for bounty coat. XIV, 184. 
A man by same name was private in Captain William Bar- 
ron's company. Colonel Joshua Wingate's regiment, for 
service in Canada. Residence, Gotfstown. Paid a bounty 
cf £6 ; wages, £3 18s per month. Mustered July 22, 1776, and 
paid £10 3s. XIV, 358. Enlisted for three years into Cap- 
tain Morrill's company of Colonel John Stark's regiment in 
1776. XIV,Jf70. Mustered March 19, 1777. Paid a bounty 
of £20. Residence, Litchfield. XIV, 602. On depreciation 
rolls for service prior to 1780, in Second Company of Colonel 
Cilley's regiment, and was allowed |180.50, XV, 712; on a 
similar roll in same company and regiment, for service in 
1780, and was allowed $80. XVI 199. On a roll of same 
company and regiment, for service in 1781, and was paid 
$80. XVI, 268. Claimed by Goffstown. XVI, 507, 661 
His entire service was over six years. Several men of same 
name were in the service from New Hampshire. 

A Samuel Smith, of Bedford, enlisted into Captain 
William Scott's company of Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's 
regiment, April 23, 1775. On pay roll of August 1st, and on 
return of company dated October 0, 1775. Discharged. De- 
cember 31, 1775. Service, eight months, seven days. Mass. 
Rolls, XIV, 521; XV, 740. Accredited to Bedford, N. H. 
Obviously there were two by the name serving in 1775, and 
it is impossible to distinguish their subsequent service. 



These men are found on the Massachusetts Rolls ac- 
credited to Peterborough, and at the same time to some 
other town; but their identity with Peterborough, if any, 
either before or after the Revolution, has not been dis- 
covered; abstracts only of Massachusetts Rolls given. 



Personal and Military Sketches. 397 

Zaccheus Blood.* Peterborough, Washington and Stod- 
dard. Private in Captain William Scott's company which 
answered the Lexington Alarm. Service, three days. En- 
listed into same company of Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's 
regiment, April 23, 1775. On company return October 6. 
Order for bounty coat November 14. Discharged, December 
31st Service, eight months, seven days. Mass. Rolls, II, 
211. N. H. State Papers, XYI, 839. See XV, 740. Prob- 
ably a Stoddard man. The above appears to be his only 
enlistment. 



Nathaniel Burroughs (or Burrows). Residence, Peter- 
borough. Also given Windham and Londonderry. Private 
in Captain William Scott's company of Minute-men, which 
answered the Lexington Alarm. Discharged, April 23d ; ser- 
vice, three days. Re-enlisted into the same company and regi- 
ment, April 23, 1775. Discharged, December 31st; service, 
eiglit months, seven days. On muster roll dated August 1, 
1775. Gave order for bounty coat or its equivalent in money, 
dated Camp at Boston, November 14, 1775. Mass. Rolls, 
Vol. II, pages 908, 909. On New Hampshire Rolls his resi- 
dence is given as Londonderry. XV, 740. 

(A Nathaniel Burroughs was private in Captain Daniel 
Runnells's (Reynolds) company of Colonel Moses Nichols's 
regiment in 1777. Enlisted July 19; discharged, September 
26. Service, two months, nine days. Paid wages and travel, 
£13 2s lOd. XV, 199. A Nathaniel Burroughs (not the 
same man), was a private in Captain Nicholas Gilman's 
company of Colonel Moses Nichols's regiment in 1777. En- 
listed May 9th ; discharged, January 10, 1778. Service, seven 
months, 22 days. XVI, 23.) 

Nothing can be found of this man outside tlie military 
rolls, nor is his name signed to the Association Test of any 
town in the State. Probably the soldier in Captain Scott's 
and Captain Runnells's companies was from Londonderry. 

* Is not this man iilentical with Zaccheus Brooks? See ante page 183. 



398 Peterborough in the Revolution. 



Joseph Clougii. Kesidence, Boston, also given Peter- 
borough. On return of men enlisted into Continental Army, 
sworn to February 16, 1778. In Captain Amos Ellis's 
company, Colonel Benjamin Haws's (Mass.) regiment. En- 
listed for town of Bellingliam, also given Groton, for three 
years. In Captain Ezra Lunt's, and William Scott's com- 
panies of Colonel Henley's, afterward Colonel Jackson's, 
regiment. Mustered October 20, 1777. Reported deserted, 
January 22, 1778. Mass. Rolls III, 650. 



William French. Peterborough, also Packersfield 
(Nelson). Private in Captain William Scott's company, 
which answered the Lexington Alarm. Service, thi'ee days. 
Enlisted into Captain William Scott's company, Colonel 
Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment, April 23, 1775. Muster 
roll and return, October Gth. Killed at Bunker Hill, June 
17, 1775. Mass. Rolls, VI, 96. ^ee also XY, N. E. State 
Papers, UiO, where he is accredited to Packersfield. 



Jonathan Grimes. Peterborough, also Hillsborough. 
Private in Colonel Henry Jackson's (Mass.) regiment. On 
Continental pay accounts from June 20. 1777, to December 
31, 1779. Accredited to the town of Abington. On rolls of 
Captain William Scott's company of Colonel Jackson's 
regiment for April, 1779. Residence, Peterborough. Dis- 
charged, June 20, 1780. On other rolls of same company 
and regiment, and residence given as Hillsborough. Mass. 
Rolls, VI, 897-8. On rolls of New Hampshire men in Colonel 
Henry Jackson's (Mass.) regiment; residence, Hillsborough. 
Enlistment, June 21, 1777, was for three years. XV, -)27. 
See XVI, 1ft, where his residence is given as Antrim. See 
also XVI, 55, where he is accredited to Abington, INIass. 
On roll certified in Colonel Henry elackson's regiment, for 
three years, in 1780, made up in Massachusetts. Amount 
of wages in specie for three years, £60 14s 8d. Amount 
made up for 1780, £35 7s 11(7. XVI, 55. On roll of New 



Personal and Military Sketches. 399 

Hampshire men in additional regiments and independent 
commands. Regiment, Colonel Jackson's; town came from, 
Antrim. XVI, 303. Undoubtedly belonged to Hillsborough. 



John Hillsgrove. Peterborough, also Temple. In 
Captain William Scott's company which answered the Lex- 
ington Alarm. Service, three days. Enlisted into Captain 
William Scott's company of Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's 
regiment, April 23, 1775. Discharged, December 31st. On 
muster roll dated August 1, 1775, and October 6th. Service, 
eight months, seven days. 3Iass. Rolls, VII, 921; XIV, 35. 
Sergeant in Captain William Scott's company of Colonel 
John Stark's (First New Hampshire) regiment of the Con- 
tinental Line, December, 1776. XIV, J/68. From Temple. 
See page 575, 612. On roll of absentees dated at Valley 
Forge, January 10, 1778, as at Albany wounded (probably 
in the Burgoyne Campaign). Descriptive list: Age, 23 
years ; height, five feet, seven inches ; complexion, light ; hair, 
light; eyes, light. XV, 434- On depreciation rolls of same 
company. Colonel Cilley's regiment, for service prior to 1780, 
and was paid $182.60. XV, 711. See 740. Sergeant on rolls 
of Captain Oilman's company, same regiment, in February, 
1781. XVI, 221, and see pages 521, 85^. Residence, 
Temple; was paid town bounty of £27 12s. XVI, 856. In 
1779, the town of Temple furnished his family with money 
and supplies to the amount in currency, of the value of £136 
19s. XVI, 856, 858, 59 and 60. He served in the army more 
than six years, and should be accredited to Temple. A 
John Hillsgrove was in Captain Richard Dowe's company, 
on Great Island, Portsmouth Harbor, in November, 1775. 
XIV, 225. Identity unknown. 



Jonas Howe. Peterborough, also New Marlborough. 
Answered the Lexington Alarm, April 19, 1775. Service, 
three days. Enlisted into Captain William Scott's com- 
pany of Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment, April 23, 
1775. On muster roll dated August 1, 1775. Killed at 



400 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775. Mass. Rolls, VIII, 387; XV, 
7JiO, where he is accredited to Marlborough. 



William Kemp. Peterborough, also given Stoddard. 
Private in Captain William Scott's company, which an- 
swered the Lexington Alarm. Service, three days. En- 
listed into the same company in Colonel Paul Dudley Sar- 
gent's regiment, April 23, 1775. On muster roll of August 
1st, and on return of October 6, 1775. Transferred to the 
train and Mattross in Captain Edmund Craft's company of 
Colonel Richard Gridley's Artillery regiment, June 23, 1775. 
On a return dated French Lines, October 12, 1775. Order 
for bounty coat, November 6, 1775. Entire service, eight 
months, seven days. 3Iass. Rolls, IX, 89, 90. Mustered into 
Captain Amos Morrill's company. Colonel John Stark's 
regiment, for three years, February 20, 1777. Paid a State 
bounty of £20. XIV, 602. Residence, given as Gofifstown. 
On depreciation rolls of Second Company, Colonel Cilley's 
(First New Hampshire) regiment, for service prior to 1780, 
and was allowed $27; rank. Sergeant. XV, 712. On New 
Hampshire roll of Captain Scott's company, accredited to 
Stoddard. XV, 7-^0. Claimed by Stoddard for the service 
at Cambridge in 1775. XVI, 839. 

(A William Kemp, residence unknown, was a Sergeant 
in Captain Samuel Richard's company of Colonel Stark's 
regiment in 1775. XIV, 55. Receipted for fl, in lieu of 
bounty coat, October 19, 1775. XIV, 184.) 



James Marshall. Peterborough, also given Bridge- 
water. Private in Captain William Scott's company which 
answered the Lexington Alarm. Discharged, April 23d. 
Service, three days. Re-enlisted into same company in 
Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment, April 23d; dis- 
charged, December 31st. Service, eight months, seven days. 
On company return dated October fith ; order for bounty 
coat or its equivalent in money, November 14, 1775. Also 
certificate dated Milton (Mass.), August 28, 1776, signed by 



Personal and Military Sketches. 401 

the Selectmen, certifying that said Marshall, deceased, had 
been a soldier in Captain Scott's company of Colonel Sar- 
gent's regiment, had left no estate, and that the bounty coat 
or its equivalent in money due him. should be paid to 
Josiah Marshall. Mass. Rolls. X, 260. His name does not 
appear upon any New Hampshire roll. 



Archibald McMillan (or McMullin). Peterborough, 
also given New Boston. Private in Captain William Scott's 
company which answered the Lexington Alarm. Service, 
three days. Ke-enlisted into same company in Colonel Paul 
Dudley Sargent's regiment, April 23, 1775. On muster roll 
dated August 1, 1775. and on return dated October 6th. On 
last roll is reported wounded and absent. In service till 
December 31, 1775. Term, eight months, seven days. Mass. 
Rolls, X, 555. 551. Wounded at Bunker Hill. June 17. 1775. 
XIY, JfS. On New Hampshire roll of Captain Scott's com- 
pany, he is accredited to New Boston. XT. 740. His age 
was 58 years, XTI, 320. and was pensioned on half-pay by the 
State from January 1. 1777. XTI. 322. His wound was 
in the elbow : and in 1785 he was pronounced ''fit" for garri- 
son duty. XTI. 326 and 331. and infra pages. 334,337. 339, 
343, 345. For papers in his claim for pension, see XTI. 417- 
419. Claimed bv town of New Boston. XTI, 753. 



Isaac Page. Peterborough, also Londonderry. Private 
in Captain William Scott's company which answered the 
Lexington Alarm. Discharged. April 23. 1775. Service, 
three days. Enlisted into Captain Scott's company. Colonel 
Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment. April 23; discharged. De- 
cember 31, 1775. Service, eight months, seven days. On 
muster roll of August 1, 1775. and on company return dated 
October 6th. Order for bounty coat or its equivalent in 
money dated November 14. 1775. Moss. Rolls. XI. 759. His 
name does not appear on the New Hampshire rolls. 

27 



402 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

Jeremiah Proctor. Peterborough, also Stoddard. Pri- 
vate in Captain William Scott's company which answered 
the Lexington Alarm. Discharged, April 23, 1775. Service, 
three days. Enlisted into Captain Scott's company. Colonel 
Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment, April 23d; discharged, 
December 31, 1775. Service, eight months, seven days. On 
muster roll dated August 1, 1775. Mass. Rolls^ XII, 8I4. 
Enlisted into Captain Stephen Parker's company, of Colonel 
Moses Nichols's regiment, July 19, 1777; died August 23, 
1777. XV, 221. Accredited to Stoddard. XV, 740; 
XVI, 839. 



John Rang (or Raino). Peterborough, also given New 
Britain (Andover). Private in Captain Scott's company 
which answered the Lexington Alarm. Service, three days. 
Enlisted into Captain William Scott's company. Colonel 
Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment, April 23, 1775. Dis- 
charged, December 31st. Service, eight months, seven days. 
On muster roll of August 1, 1775; on return dated October 
6th. Order for bounty coat or its equivalent in money No- 
vember 14, 1775. Mass. Rolls, XII, 968. Accredited to New 
Britain. XV, 740. Enlisted into Captain ,( Major) William 
Scott's company of Colonel John Stark's, or Joseph Cilley's, 
(First) New Hampshire Regiment, for three years or during 
the war, in 1777. XIV, 572. Paid a bounty of £20, and lis 
5d for travel. XIV, 613. On latter roll he is represented as 
from Amherst. See XV, 612. But see XIV, 569. On return of 
of men enlisted out of Colonel Moses Nichols's regiment of 
militia dated March 19, 1779. XV, 612. On depreciation 
rolls for service prior to 1780, and was allowed |83.80. XV, 
711. Re-enlisted at expiration of above term probably, for 
the war, XVI, 499, from the town of New Britain (An- 
dover) ; accredited to Amherst. XVI, 562, 563. Claimed 
by Andover. XVI, 563. 



Daniel Read. Peterborough, also given Medford 
(Mass.). Drummer in Captain William Scott's company at 



Personal and MiUtary Sketches. 403 

the Lexington Alarm. Service, three days. Enlisted into 
Captain William Scott's company in Colonel Paul Dudley 
Sargent's regiment, April 23, 1775. Discharged, December 
31st. Service, eight months, seven days. On muster roll of 
August 1, 1775. 3Iass. Rolls, XIII, 9. His name does not 
appear on the New Hampshire Rolls. 



John Robinson (also given as John^ Jr.). Peterborough 
and Londonderry. Private in Captain William Scott's 
company, which answered the Lexington Alarm. Service, 
three days. Enlisted into Captain William Scott's com- 
pany of Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment, April 23, 
1775. Discharged, December 31, 1775. Service, eight 
months, seven days. On muster roll of August 1, 1775; on 
return of October 6th; order for bounty coat or its equiva- 
lent in money, November 14, 1775. Mass. Rolls, XIII, 451. 
Accredited to Londonderry. XV, 740. Several different 
men of the same name are credited with service for New 
Hampshire but there is nothing on the rolls to identify any 
one of them with the man in Captain Scott's company in 
1775. Probably he did serve other enlistments, but when, 
or in what regiments cannot be certainly stated. 



John Tucker. Peterborough, also given Newbury. 
Private in Captain William Scott's company at the Lexing- 
ton Alarm. Service, three days. Enlisted into Captain 
William Scott's company of Colonel Paul Dudley's Sargent's 
regiment, April 23, 1775; discharged, December 31st. Ser- 
vice, eight months, seven days. On muster roll of August 1, 
1775. Mass. Rolls, XVI, 108. Private in Captain William 
Harper's company of Colonel Isaac Wyman's regiment. 
Mustered July 16, 1776. Paid bounty of £6, and one month's 
pay, £3 18s. XIV, 312. Discharged, about December 1st. 
Private in Captain Daniel Gordon's company of Colonel 
David Oilman's regiment, raised to reinforce the army in 
New York, in December, 1776, Paid £5 10s for one month, 



404 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

and travel. XIV^ J/Sl. On pay roll of same company dated 
April 30, 1777, and paid £2 7s U. XIV, 532. Private in 
Captain Kowell's company in Colonel Nathan Hale's regi- 
ment. Mustered May 8, 1777. Term, three years. Paid 
bounty of £20, XIV, 564- Kesidence given Epping, XIV, 
630. On depreciation rolls of Eighth Company, Second 
New Hampshire Regiment, Colonel George Reid, for service 
prior to 1780. Allowed |15.40. XV, 725. Enlisted into 
Continental Army for three years, August 20, 1782, and 
was paid a bounty of £20. XVI, 287. A John Tucker was 
in service at Portsmouth Harbor, in the winter of 1775. 
XIV, 236, 260; XVII, 22, 33. In Colonel Stickney's regi- 
ment, two months and one day in 1777, XV, 194, and in 
Captain Ezekiel Gile's company in the fall of same year. 
Perhaps he is the same man in XV, 398. 



George Wilson. Peterborough and Stoddard. Private 
in Captain William Scott's company which answered the 
Lexington Alarm, April 19, 1775. Service, three days. 
Enlisted April 23, 1775, into Captain William Scott's com- 
pany of Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment On pay 
roll of August 1st, and on return of company, dated October 
6th. Discharged, December 31, 1775. Service, eight months, 
seven days. Reported enlisted in train. Mass. Rolls, Vol. 
XVII, 536, 563. N. H. mate Papers, Vol. XV, 7f,0. Private in 
Captain William Barron's company. Colonel Isaac Wy- 
man's regiment in 1776. Mustered July 16. Paid bounty, 
advance wages, and travel, £9 18s. XIV, 336. Residence, 
Amherst. XVII, 63. Enlisted May 3, 1777, into Captain 
Wait's company of Colonel Joseph Cilley's regiment for 
three years. Paid bounty of £20, and lis Qd for travel. 
Age, 19 years. Residence, Amherst. XIV, 597, 572; XV, 
611. On depreciation rolls of same company and regiment, 
for service prior to 1780, and was paid |179. XV, 713. On 
a similar roll of Third Company, same regiment, for service 
in 1780, and was paid |5.50. XVI, 199. February 19, 1781, 
enlisted into Continental Army for three years. Paid a 



Personal and Military Sketches. 405 

bounty of £20. XVI, 235. Claimed by Hudson. XVI, 698. 
This service may have been to the credit of the town of 
Windham. XVI, 890; XVII, 439. See XVI, 839, where his 
service at Cambridge was claimed to be for Stoddard. It is 
not certain that the George Wilson serving for Nottingham 
is the same as the one serving in Colonel Cilley's regiment. 
There were two men by the name in service, and it is im- 
possible from the rolls to distinguish. See XV, 215. In 
Kidder's History of First New Hampshire Regiment, he is 
accredited to Peterborough. But this is an error. 



The names herewith given were soldiers who served to 
the credit of Massachusetts towns during the Revolution. 
They came to Peterborough after the war and lived and died 
in town on dates stated in the sketches. 

William Diamond. Was born in Boston, Mass., July 21, 
1755. He learned the trade of wheelwright there, and re- 
moved to Lexington, Mass., in 1775, Where he lived and fol- 
lowed his vocation for twenty years; and in 1795 he came 
to Peterborough and remained there until his death, July 
29, 1828, aged 73 years. He married Rebecca Simonds, 
daughter of John and Mary (Tufts) Simonds, of Lexing- 
ton, March 6, 1783. She died in Peterborough April 8, 1855, 
at the age of 92 years, seven months. 

He was a drummer, learning the art from a British sol- 
dier while a resident of Boston. He was in the line, as a 
drummer, of Captain John Parker's men on Lexington 
Green on the morning of April 19, 1775. He personally 
knew every man in Captain Parker's company that morning. 
After the British fire Captain Parker gave the order that 
each man must take care of himself. Mr. Diamond, when he 
started to run, had to step over the body of one of his com- 
rades. He took the Bedford road in his flight and, wishing 
to get rid of the drum to hasten his steps, finding he could 
not detach it, he slipped it over his head, and by so doing 
knocked off his hat. He then threw the drum over the wall, 



40(i Peterborough in the Revolution. 

and stopping to pick up his hat saw the British bayonets so 
near him that he had to leave it. Getting possession of a 
gun and some ammunition he went to Concord, reaching the 
town before the British, and joining the Americans, took 
part in the fight there. He joined in the pursuit of the 
enemy when the}' left Concord, and followed them with the 
militia from Concord down through Lincoln and Lexington 
until the British met the reinforcements sent out by General 
Gage to support them. He recognized among the British 
soldiers the man who had taught him to drum in Boston and 
who endeavored to make signs to him of the hostile purpose 
of the invaders, but Mr. Diamond did not understand what 
the soldier's signals meant. The night before the battle Mr. 
Diamond was one of seven men asked for by John Hancock 
to guard the house of Rev. Jonas Clark, where he (Hancock) 
was stopping. Mr. Diamond took his drum with him. 
Governor Hancock instructed the guards to keep awake and 
be watchful, and very early, before the enemy appeared, 
told him to beat the reveille, which he did in good earnest. 
Dr. Smith in Peterborough Transcript. 

On April 25, 1775, William Diamond enlisted into Captain 
Edward Bemis's company of Colonel Asa WTiitcomb's 
(Mass.) regiment. On a muster roll dated August 1, 1775. 
Discharged, December 31, 1775. Term, eight months, six 
days. He was in the battle of Bunker Hill. On January 
1, 1776, he enlisted into Captain John Wood's company of 
Colonel Laommi Baldwin's (Twenty-Sixth) regiment. He is 
on the pay abstracts of the same regiment of February, 
March, April, May and June, 1776, dated at New York. 
May 2, 1777, he was on the roll in Captain Jesse Wyman's 
company of Colonel Josiah Whitney's regiment. Arrived 
at destination. May 10, 1777. Discharged at Point Judith, 
N. Y., July 10, 1777. Term, one year, six months, eleven 
days. Mass. Rolls, Vol. IV, 7S1. Also on list of men raised 
to reinforce the Continental Army in New York in 1780. 
Engaged for the town of Lexington. Arrived at Springfield, 
(Mass.), July 9, 1780. Marched to .camp, July 10, 1780, 



Personal and Military Sketches. 407 

under command of Captain Daniel Shays. Descriptive list: 
Age, 25 years; stature, five feet, live inches; complexion, 
dark. Discharged from service, December 19, 1780. Term, 
five months, 25 days. M. R., Vol. IV, 729. Dr. Smith says 
he served seven years, but the above enlistments are the only 
ones found on any rolls. In his application for pension 
below, made April 13, 1818, he says : 

'*In April 1775 I was in the first engagement of the Revo- 
lutionary war, and soon after, enlisted in Capt. Bemis's Com- 
pany, Col. Whitcomb's Regiment in the Continental service, 
as Musician, and then served 8 months, when having re- 
enlisted into Capt. Ward's Company in Col. Baldwin's Regi- 
ment Mass. Line I continued there Employed against the 
Common Enemy till the end of one year more, when I re- 
engaged to remain 6 weeks longer. At the end of which 
time being in all without intermission 21| months, I was 
honorably discharged, but have no certificate thereof. Again 
in 1780 I served 6 months more in the Continental Establish- 
ment. I further depose that I never received a Pension from 
the United States; am now 62 years old, have a family, am 
infirm in health, destitute of property, and from reduced 
circumstances need the assistance from my Country for 
support. 

(Signed) William Diamond." 

This claim was allowed, and he drew |96 per year. Two 
years later, July 4, 1820, he filed another application in 
which he sets forth the same facts, and in addition attests : 

"Was in service nearly all the Revolutionary war. 
Served as a Musician for most part. Was at the taking of 
Trenton and Battle of Princeton. * * * That he has not 
disposed of property nor income other than contained in the 
following Schedule. 
Schedule 

2 Cows $32.00 

3 Sheep 3.00 
1 Hog 7.00 



142.00 
"Have a life lease of 32 acres of land in Peterboro, with 
small house and barn. Little improvement on place, value 
$6.00 per year. 

(Signed) William Diamond. 



408 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

"Owes to different persons $50 or more. Occupation 
Farmer, but unable to labor. Family consists of wife and 
daughter Lydia Avery aged 23 with 2 children. Her hus- 
band has no property, and has absconded. 

(Signed) William Diamond." 

From record of marriages, town of Lexington, Mass. : 
"William Diamond and Rebecca Simonds, both of Lexing- 
ton, were married the 6th of March, A. D. 1783." 

In 1838 his widow filed a claim for a pension and was 
granted one for ^S8 per annum, with $220 back pension. In 
1843 she again made application to get the benefit of the 
pension law of that year, but it does not appear to have 
been allowed, for in 1848 she made a claim in order to get 
the increase established by Act of Congress, July 1, 1848, and 
was allowed an increase of |8 per year. March 26, 1855, she 
applied for bounty land, 160 acres, which was granted and 
warrant issued April 22, 1855. The date of the warrant was 
fourteen days after her death, which occurred April 8, 1855. 



Ebenezer Hadley. Was the son of Thomas and Ruth 
(Lawrence) Hadley, and was born in Lexington, Mass., May 
6, 1751. Married Phoebe, daughter of Isaac and Hannah 
Winship, also of Lexington, March 11, 1770. He came to 
town about 1804, and lived in Peterborough from that time 
until his death, June 15, 1810, aged 59 years. His death was 
the result of a fall from his horse. 

He was a private in a detachment of Lexington (Mass.) 
militia commanded by Captain John Parker, April 19, 1775. 
Service, two days. This detachment was ordered to report 
on command at Cambridge, from June 17 to June 18, 1775, 
by order of the Committee of Safety. This enlistment was 
for a term of five months. Corporal in Captain Charles 
Miles's company of Colonel Jonathan Reed's regiment in 
1777. He was on a pay abstract for allowance and 
travel from Ticonderoga sworn to February 16, 1777. Al- 
lowed for 190 miles travel. Receipted for this allowance to 
Edmund Munro, at Lexington ; date, February 18, 1777. A 



Personal and Military Sketches. 409 

Sergeant (his widow in her application says Orderly Ser- 
geant) in Captain Edmund Munro's company of Colonel 
Timothy Bigelow's (Mass.) regiment of the Continental 
Line. Enlisted March 10, 1777 ; discharged, March 10, 1780. 
Service, three years. On a roll Continental pay accounts 
from March 10, 1777, to December 31, 1779, and on a similar 
roll from January 1, 1780, to March 10, 1780. Served for 
Lexington; residence, Lexington. At one time he was on 
the roll of Captain Bowman's company of the same regiment, 
from January 10, 1780, to March 10, 1780. Mass. Rolls, 
Vol. YII, page 16. The History of I'eterborough, see Gene- 
alogies, pages 102 and 103, says of him: That he, and his 
father and brother Samuel, were all members of Captain 
Parker's Lexington company, in April, 1775. They stood in 
the line on Lexington Green when the British troops came 
up and ordered them to lay down their arms, and disperse. 
At the first British fire nine of the company were killed. 
Among the rest Samuel, brother of Ebenezer Hadley. Dr. 
Smith says it is probable that both the father and the sur- 
viving son took part in the subsequent battle of that mem- 
orable day. The same authority says that Ebenezer Hadley's 
name was on the roll of Captain Parker's company called to 
Cambridge, May 6 to June 10, 1775, but there is no record 
of it, though there is a record that he served in Captain 
Parker's company which was ordered to Cambridge on June 
17, though it was not in the battle of Bunker Hill. Nor is 
there any record of his service at Ticonderoga for five 
months in 1775, though he might have so served after the 
battle of Bunker Hill. 

He never received a pension, but on the seventh day of 
April, 1837, his widow filed an application for one, of which 
this is a copy: 

''That she is the widow of Ebenezer Hadley, late of 
Peterboro, deceased, who was Private and Orderly Sergeant 
in the Revolutionary Army. That he was in the Battle of 
Lexington Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1775, That 
immediately after the battle he enlisted for 5 months, and 



410 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

was stationed during that time at Winter Hill, or in that 
vicinit}'. ♦ • * That he again enlisted in March, I think, 
1777, it was in the spring of that year, under Captain 
Edward Munroe, of Lexington aforesaid, for 3 years, that 
his Company was attached to Col Timothy Bigelow's Regi- 
ment, and he went on an Expedition to the west, and was 
at the taking of Burgoyne and at the Battle of Monmouth. 
In the spring of 1779, he was at home on furlough and on 
the 11th day of March of the year, to wit, 1779, at Lexington, 
aforesaid, she was married to him by Rev. Jonas Clark, 
Minister of that place at the time. A few days after our 
marriage he left me and returned to the army, she thinks he 
went to Rhode Island. She remembers that he came home 
a few months after our Marriage and said he came from 
Providence. During his first year of service he was a pri- 
vate soldier, and volunteered his services. He was also a 
Volunteer in the Second Enlistment for three years and was 
orderly Sergeant. That she has no documentary evidence 
to suport her Claim. That her husband had however a Dis- 
charge in writing from his 3 years service which she has 
seen, but it is now lost. That she declares * * that her 
Husband Ebenezer Hadley died at said Teterboro, on the 17th 
of July A. D. 1810, and that she has remained his widow ever 
since * ♦ * That her husband never drew a pension. 

Phebe (her mark) Hadley." 

In proof of her claim, her sister, Hannah Marble, of 
Boston, on March 18, 1837, gave the following deposition : 

"Q. Have you a sister? 

*'I have. 
"Q. What was her maden name? 

"The maiden name of one of my sisters was Phebe 
Wlnship. 

"Q. To whom was your sister married? 

"To Ebenezer Hadley. 
"Who married them? 

"Rev. Jonas Clark. 
"Where? 

"In his house. 
"Q. When? 

Fifty Eight years ago this month. 
"Q. Who witnessed the marriage? 

"My brother, my sister and myself. 



Personal and Military Sketches. 4ll 

"Q. Did said Hadley go to the Army after your sister 
married him? 

"He did. He was on furlough at the time of the 
marriage. 

"Q. How long did he stay in the Army after marriage? 
"About a year, 

(Signed) Hannah (her mark) Marble." 
Another sister, Sarah Wellington, testifies to the same 
facts. 

"Records of Lexington, Mass., show that Ebenezer Hadley 

and Phebe Winship were joined in marriage, March 11, 1779. 

Attest, Charles Tidd, Town Clerk." 

The claim was allowed, and the pension, |120 a year, 

dated from March 4, 1831. She received back pension to the 

amount of $720.00. 



Joseph Jewett. A native of Massachusetts, and son of 
Ezra and Mary Jewett. Born in Littleton, June 15, 1740. 
Married Rebecca Abbott, of Westford, in 1763. He came to 
Peterborough in 1808, and died in town August 25, 1814, 
aged 74 years. Hist, of Peterborough, Genealogies, page 
121. He was a resident of Littleton during the Revolution. 

He was a private in Lieutenant Aquila Jewett's company 
of Colonel James Preseott's regiment, which marched on the 
Lexington Alarm, April 19, 1775. Service, two days. En- 
listed into Captain Aaron Jewett's company of Colonel 
Samuel Bullard's regiment, August 15, 1777; discharged, No- 
vember 29th. Service, three months, 26 days, including 11 
days' (220 miles) travel home. With the Northern Army 
at Saratoga. He was also a private in Captain John 
Drury's company, of Colonel Ezra Wood's regiment. En- 
listed June 6, 1778 ; discharged, February 10, 1779. Service, 
eight months, four days. The company was stationed at 
North River, N. Y. Gave an order on Captain Potter, pay- 
master of Colonel Wood's regiment, payable to Amos Allen, 
of Lancaster, Mass., April 19, 1779, signed by him and others 
for their wages for eight months' service. Mass. Rolls, Vol. 
VIII, page 796. His entire military service was to the 
credit of Massachusetts. 



412 Peterborough in the Revolution. 

Christopher Thayer. Was the son of Christopher and 
Mary (Morse) Thayer, and was born in Braiutree, Mass., 
April 27, 1741. Married Bethiah Hunt. He lived in Brain- 
tree until his removal to Peterborough in 178G, where he died 
September 28, 1823, aged 82 years. He was a Deacon in the 
Presbyterian Church at Peterborough for many years and 
was highly respected for his upright, Christian character. 
July 7, 1775 he enlisted into Captain John Porter's company 
of Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment, at Cambridge, 
Rank, Sergeant. He is on a muster roll dated August 7, 
1775; on a company return dated Boston, October 6th. 
Gave an order for bounty coat or its equivalent in money, 
dated November 20, 1775. Discharged, December 31, 1775. 
Service, five months, 24 days. Mass. Rolls, Vol. XV, 525. 

January 1, 1776, he enlisted into Captain Jacob Allen's 
company of Colonel Bailey's* (Mass.) regiment, and served 
one year. Rank, Sergeant. In his application for pension, 
dated October 19, 1818, he says: 

'That in the summer of 1775, I enlisted into Col. Sar- 
gent's regiment and Served 5 or 6 months. Again in De- 
cember, 1775, or the 1st of January 1776, I enlisted as a 
common soldier into Capt. Jacob Allen's Company, in Col. 
Cilley's Regt. Mass. Line, Continental Service, and there 
Served againt the Common Enemy one whole 3'ear, and did 
the duty of Sergeant in said Company and was Honorably 
discharged. Neither myself nor any other person discharged 
has any written Discharge to my Knowledge. We were dis- 
charged at Pittskell on North River. I have never received 
any Pension from the United States, am now 77 years old, 
infirm, have very little property, and from reduced circum- 
stances need the assistance of my Country for Support. 

(Signed) Chrysto Thaj^er." 

* Record of this service not found in Massachusetts rolls. 



FINIS. 



INDEX OF PERSONS 



ABBOTT, Abial, 167. 285, 368. 

Daniel, 347. 

Captain Joshua, 90, 195, 241, 251, 
259. 261. 

Rebecca, 411. 

Sally, 347. 
Adams, Charles Francis, 102, 104, 
107. 

Lieutenant- Colonel Winborn, 320. 

Lieutenant. 321. 340. 

Luther, 128, 165. 

Rebecca, 165. 

Samuel, 29, 133, 

Stephen, 165. 
Aiken. Captain James, 223, 263, 264, 
275. 

Lieutenant Joseph, 372. 
Ainsworth, Rev. Laban, 175, 232. 
Aldrich. Captain George, 297. 
Alexander. Abigail, 293. 

Elizabeth. 165. 

James, 166. 

John, 96, 118, 165, 166, 167. 

Thomas, 118. 167. 

William, 165. 
Allat, David, 5, 28, 164. 
Alld, Benjamin, 96, 118, 128, 157, 167, 
168. 

Jane, 362. 

Lettuce, 167. 

William, 6, 52, 54, 55, 167. 
Allen, Aenas, 411. 

Daniel, 314. 

Eleanor, 314. 

Captain Jacob, 412. 

Josiah. 314. 

William, 314. 
Allison, Catherine McP, 219. 

.Tanet, 219. 

Samuel, 219. 
Ames. Bethiah, 309. 

Catherine, 334. 

David, 27. 110, 111, 169. 

Isabel, 344. 

Jane. 169. 

Sally. 341. 

Stephen, 169. 
Amherst, Jeffrey, 11. 
Andrews. .Teremiah, 348. 
Annan, Rev. David, 144. 

Jane. 371. 
Arnold, General Benedict. 94, 103, 
107 124, 126, 177, 188, 239, 259, 
3.")3, 366. 
Ashley, Colonel John, 109, 110, 111, 
112, 172, 173. 345, 383. 



Atkinson, Colonel Theodore, 8. 
Avery, Lydia, 407. 

Ayers, Captain Jonathan. 127, 219, 
338. 

BABB, BABBE, BABE, Joseph, 28, 

96, 111, 118, 169, 170. 
Bacon, Ensign, 321. 
Margaret S., 171, 
Michael, 171. 
Retire, 90, 171. 
Bagley Colonel Jonathan, 8, 12. 
Bailey, Bayley, Andrew, 87, 88, 125, 
171, 172. 
Colonel John, 281, 412. 
Baker, Captain John, 281. 

Lieutenant Elisha, 214. 
Baldwin, Elizabeth L., 172. 
Captain Isaac, 188. 
Jacob, 12S, 157, 172, 173. 
Colonel Laommi, 194, 262, 263, 406, 

407. 
Colonel Nahum, 96, 166, 168, 196, 
210 219, 246, 259, 276, 344, 359, 
361- 
Ball, Lucy, 280. 
Barber, Nathaniel, 170, 202, 253, 3.50. 

364. 
Bargados. Jacob I., 217. 
Barlow, John, 60, 127, 128, 175. 
Barnet Barnard, Jonathan, 87, 88, 

90, 176. 
Barron, Captain Timothy. 384. 
Captain William, 125, 172, 183, 195, 
345, 373, 396, 404. 
Bartlett, Josiah, 109. 

Colonel Thomas, 124-126, 264. 
Batchelder. Peter, 246. 
Bates, Joseph, 74-77. 

Stephen, 282. 
Battles, Captain Ebenezer, 198. 
Baum, Colonel, 113. 
Baxter, Asenath, 219. 
Beadle, Colonel, 322. 
Beale, Captain Obadiah, 168. 

Captain Zachariah, 200, 382, 383. 
Bedel, Colonel Timothy, 95, 97, 166, 
183. 184, 224, 241, 243, 260, 357, 
375, 383, 384. 395. 
Bell, S. D., .342. 

Colonel John, 128, 209. 371. 
Bellows. Colonel Benjamin, 110-112, 
118, 169, 225, 228, 229, 237, 283, 
383 
Bemis, Captain Edward. 406, 407. 
Betis, Mr., 329. 



414 



Peterborough in the Revolution. 



BiROlow, Betsy, 2(M. 

Colonel Timothy, 409, 410. 
Bill. Adjutant, 175. 
Blair, Annnnias, 180. 

Elizabeth, 157. 

Esther, 17C. 

Georffe, 180. 

Lyilla, 180. 

John, 28, 53, 57, 58, 87, 88, 94, 114, 
118-120, l.'jf), 17G, 177, 180. 

Mary, 17(i, 180, 233. 

Samuel 180. 

William. 27, 111, 114, 118, 121, 156, 
1.57, 170, 180-182, 233. 
Blake, Mr.. .327. 

Lieutenant Thomas, 322. 
Blanohard. Colonel Jonathan, 10. 

Jotham, 40, ,52-55, 74. 
Blodsett. Captain, .358. 
Blood, Francis, 2.5.3. 

Zaccheus, .53, 122, 182. 
Bodwell, John, 79. 
Bowman, Captain Phineas(?), 409. 
Boyce, Captain AVilliani. 183, 186, 386. 
Boyd. Captain John. 198. 
Bradford. Captain John, 375. 

William. 317. 
Brandt, Joseph, 321. 
Brattle. Colonel. 13. 
Brewer, Colonel Jonathan, 90, 93, 

171, 184. 
Briant. Captain Edmund, 118, 181, 
241, 242, 255, 277. 294, 306, 334, 
.345, 3.59, 370, 383, 385. 
Brlcrss, Leonard, 326. 
Brooks, Benjamin. 73. 

Zaccheus 53, 122, 182. 397. 
Brown. Aaron, 27. 36. 37, 39, 101. 

Ensiirn Benjamin, 214. 

John. 320. 

Captain .Tosiah, 110, 191, 296. 344, 
3.53. 383. 

Nancy. 176. 

Captain Nathan. 371. 372. 

Captain Silas. 7, 9, 10, 11. 
Bulkley, Captain, 17. 
Bullard. CaT)tain Samuel, 411. 

Captain William, 198. 
Bursovne. General John. 50. 62, 65, 
102 103. 104. 105. 106, 107, 108, 
114," 118, 119. 221, 249, 281, 294, 
.320, 331. .390. 409. 410. 
Burnhnm, Colonel Jonathan, 199. 

MnriTiirot, 171. 
Burns. John. <>0. 94, 128 182-184. 
Burroutrlis. Burrows Nathaniel 87. 

88, 397. 
Burton. lieutenant Jonathan, 183. 
Bush. Jotham. 1.39. 
Butler. Colonel. 321. 

Elizabeth n., 184. 

Captain John. 28, 184. 

John. 90. 184. 18,5. 

Captain Joseph, 394. 
Butterfield, Captain Jonathan. 8. 12. 

CALDWELL. Elizabeth, 185. 
James. 87. .88, 185. 
John. 87, 88. 
Marjraret. 185. 
Paul. 87, 88. 



Samuel, 87. 88. 90, 120, 157, 185, 186. 

Campbell, Daniel, 36. 
Captain Ilobert, 175. 

Cautield, Captain Samuel, 118, 229. 

Capron, Captain Oliver, 305. 

Carletou, General Guy, 103, 106. 

Carlisle, Captain Daniel, 184, 384. 
Carpenter, Richard, 326. 

Carr, Captain James, 271, 312, 338. 

Carter, Susannah M., 190. 

Casey, John, 177, 291. 

Chambers, Captain Matthew, 173, 174. 

Champlaiu, 4. 

Charles First, King, 26. 
Chauncy, Commander, 333. 

Chase, Colonel Jonathan, 110-112, 
169, 203, 345, 388, 389. 

Cherry, Captain Samuel, 295, 303. 

Church, Almon, 217. 

Cilley, Colonel Joseph, 100, 118, 128, 
166, 175, 185, 188, 189, 195-202, 
211, 216 225, 228, 229, 230. 244, 
245, 247, 248, 249, 252, 258, 259, 
260, 261 274, 286, 298, 307, 308, 
315, 316, 317, 319, 320, 322, 327, 
335, 336, 345, 349, 352, 353, 368, 
369, 374, 377, 378, 380, 385, 386; 
.387, 388, 389, 391, 395, 396, 399, 
400, 402 401, 405, 412. 

ClaKKett, Ciifton, 340. 

Clark. Uev. Jonas, 406, 410. 

Captain Peter, 116. 118, 186, 192, 
210, 222. 

Clay, Captain, 369. 

Clements, Captain Timothy, 172. 

Clough, Joseph, 398. 

Cochran. Abigail, 186. 
Ilobart. 186. 
Janet. 186. 
William, 186. 
Lieutenant William, 87, 88, 90, 186. 

Coffin, Captain Peter. 95, 201, 343. 

Cogan, , 60. 67. 

Coggswell, Colonel Jonathan, 236, 
279, 280. 
Colonel Thomas, 263. 

Colburn, Abigail, 362. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Andrew, 320. 

Cole. Captain, 383. 

Collins. John, 394, 395. 

Connelly, Mr. 322. 

Connors, Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel, 
238. 

Cooper, Dr., 264, 26.5. 

Copeland, Jacob, 292. 

Corey, Lieutenant Ephraim, 171. 

Cornwallis. Lord 231. 

Cotton, (^)lonel Theophllus, 283, 285. 

Covin. Charles, 27. 
.Toseph. 127, 187. 

Cowper, Samuel, 329. 

Crafts. Captain Edward, 400. 

Crane. Colonel John, 214. 

Creaton Elinor. 296. 
Elizabeth. 289. 

Crofton. Lieutenant, 18. 

Cromwell. Oliver. 116. 

Cross, Captain I'eter, 340. 

Cruse. Corporal, 326. 

Cudworth. Samuel, 340. 

Cummings, Captain Eleazer, 94, 198. 



Index of Persons. 



m 



Cunningham, Elizabeth, 288. 

James, 120, 187-189, 347. 

Mary. 240. 

Moses, 27. 

Robert, 118, 127, 128, 188, 183. 

Samuel, 6, 7, 14. 34, 46, 52, 53, 
55, 101, 111, 114, 120, 121, 123, 
151, 177, 185, 188, 189, 190, 203, 
208 222, 238. 239, 241 243, 270, 
345, 356, 369, 370, 376, 380, 381, 
382, 392. 

Thomas, 6, 7, 14, 28, 187, 240. 

William, 7. 
Curtis. Elizabeth B., 283. 

Hannah 283. 

Rev. Philip, 283. 
Gushing, John, 220. 

DAGGETT, Colonel John, 198. 
Dame, Colonel Theophilus, 345. 
Davidson, Anna W., 191. 

Charles, 28, 121, 191. 

Thomas, 28, 110, 125. 141, 238. 
Dearborn. Captain Henry, 91, 94, 182, 
217, 223, 239, 249, 272 273, 274, 
321, 366, 375. 382. 

Captain Joseph, 271, 388. 

Captain Stephen, 194. 261, 262. 
Deering, Captain Ebenezer, 261, 276, 

357 38^ 
DeFonblanque, ia5, 106. 
Deming, .John, 234. 
Denny, Colonel Samuel, 173. 
Devere, John, 299. 
Dewey, Colonel Samuel, 173. 
Dexter. Captain, 90, 297. 
Diamond, .Tohn, 157. 

Rebecca, 157. 

William, 156, 405-408. 
Dicks, John, 267. 
Dinsmore, John, 14, 21. 
Dodge, Captain Barnabas, 214. 

Edwin. 2.50. 

Joseph, 293. 

Lydia, 192. 

Robert, 192. 

Solomon. 118, 126, 192, 364. 
Doolittle. Captain Ephraim, 305. 
Dowe, Captain Richard, 399. 
Drake, Colonel Abraham, 216, 255. 
Drury, Abigail E., 184. 

Anna, 376. 

Daniel. 376. 

Captain Gershom, 372. 

Hannah, 184. 

Captain .John, 411. 

Micah, 384. 

Sarah F., 376. 
Ducannon. Decannon, William, 53. 

121, 192. 193. 
Dudley, John, 291. 
Dunbar. Rev. Elijah, 6-8, 9 12, 14, 

92, 190. 272, 2&5, 296. 
Duncan, George, .56- 57, 58. 

Captain John, 166, 259, 261, 262. 

Maior, 218. 

Rachel, .371. 
Dunlap, Mary, 198. 
Dustln, Captain Moody, 229, 258, 295, 

336. 
Dutton, Sally, 381. 



Dwyer, "Little," 66. 

EAMES, Anna, 306. 

David, 256. 

Elizabeth B., 256. 

Mary, 256. 
Eaton. Captain Joseph, 337. 
Edes, Peter, 264. 
Edwards, Commissioner, 311. 
Elkins, Captain Henry, 278. 
Elliott, David, 193, 194. 

John 91, 193. 194, 195. 

Sarah W., 193. 
Ellis, Captain Amos, .398. 

Captain Benjamin, 174, 295. 
Ely, Justin, 220. 
Emery, Humphrey, 195. 

Noah, Jr.. 65. 

Richardson, 28, 87, 88, 96, 195, 196. 

Ruth, 171. 

Sarah H., 195. 
Emerson, Captain Daniel, 185, 186, 

385. 
Esterbrook, Captain Joseph, 224. 
Esty, General. 294. 
Evans, Abigail, 191. 

Asaph. 214. 

Nathaniel, 57, 58, 294, 

Colonel Stephen, 200, 273, 294, 388. 

FAIRFIELD, Jeremiah, 87, 88, 118. 

126, 196. 197. 
Farnsworth, B., 314. 

Jane, 314. 

Sally, 314. 

Timothy, 314. 

William, 314. 
Farrington, Captain, 10. 
Farwell, Betsy. 210. 

Captain Isaac, 211, 212, 247, 249, 
3a3. 
Felt. Jonathan, 198, 275. 

Oliver, 198. 
Ferguson, Henry, 7 37, 72, 94 198. 
199, 218, 269. 

Esther 356. 

John, 198. 

Sarah, 269. 
Field, Jerutia, 277. 

William. 233. 
Findlay, Captain Joseph, 118, 164, 

218, 219, 240, 261, 203, 264, 277. 
Fisher. Samuel 266. 
Fisk, Jonathan,' 179. 
Fitch, Captain Ephraim, 173. 

Susannah, 277. 
PitzMaurice, Lord E.. 105. 
Flower, Captain, 181. ' 
Folsom, General Nathaniel, 30, 34, 

101. 110. 
Ford. Captain John, 173. 

Worthington C, 107. 
Forrest, Adjutant, 175. 
Foster, Lucy Stiles, 359. 

Lydia 20.1. 
Fowle. Robert, 1.39. 
Fox. Captain Joseph, 178, 179, 223, 
224 234 252, 2.53, 2.54. 2.57, 301, 
.302, 309, 310. 346, 351. 364, 365, 
Francis. Captain Ebenezer, 283, 284. 
F'razer, General, 217. 



416 



Peterborough in the Revolution. 



Freeman, Mary, 176. 
French, William, 87. 88, 398. 
Frink Dr. Calvin, 206. 
Frost, George, 291. 
Frye, Lieutenant Daniel, 173. 

Captain Ebenezer, 260, 293, 389. 
395. 

Captain Isaac, 172, 189, 205, 230. 

GAGE, Captain Amos, 239. 

Major Benjamin, 219. 

David, 28. 

Governor Thomas, 103, 40G. 

Isaac, 88. 

Captain Nathaniel, 118, 337. 
Gale. Colonel Jacob, 120, 121, 195, 
202 261. 

Uuth". 220. 
Gates, General Horatio, 117, 238, 263, 
277, 30(5, 326, .342. 

Samuel 311, 313. 
Germain, Lord George, 103, KM, 105, 

106, 107. 
Gerrish, Colonel Henry, 252. 

Colonel Jacob, 118, 124, 214, 337. 

Captain Paul, 8. 
Gihbs, Jonathan. 184. 
Gilchrist, IClizabeth W., 199. 

Richard, 87. 88. 157, 199, 200, 205. 

William, 190. 267. 
Gile, Captain Ezekiel, 404. 
Gilliard, ("harity, 324. 
Gilman Colonel Daniel, 372, 373. 

Colonel David, 07, 172, 186, 232, 
364. .371. 373 .380, 385, 388. 403. 

Captain Jeremiah, 228. 274, 349, 
300. 

John Tavlor, .348, .361. 

Colonel Nicholas. 273. 307. 

Cai)tain Zebnlon. 200. .388. 
Gilmore. David. 175, 232. 

Captain James. 121. 202, 261. 
Glover General John, 221. 
Goffe. Colonel John. 5. 12, 13. 
Goodman. Elizalieth, 180. 
Gordon. Captain Daniel. 403. 

James, 127. 200. 

William, 180. 
Gould, Captain George, 108. 
Graham. John. 87, 88. 93, 96, 121, 

128, 120, 201, 202. 

William, 87, 88, 118, 202, 307. 
Grav, I'Meanor, 109. 

(\aptaln James, 188, 271. 388. 

Jaue, 203. 

.Tennie 270. 

John. 110, 120, 203, 204. 

Kelso, 27, 37, 101. 203, 247. 

Matthew. 28, 56, 203. 

Roliert. 27. 

S:irah .370. 

William. 313. 314. 
Greaton, Colonel John, 181. 321. 
Gregjr. Gragpr. Adam, 27, 111, 120. 
207, 208. 

Anna, 224. 

Catherine, 241. 

Hugh, 27, 28, 91, 96, 111, 112, 207, 
208. 

Jacob, 27. 88, 208. 

James, 90, 128, 209. 



Jean 207, 208. 

John, 28, 90, 97. 110, 209, 210. 

John Jr., 27. 

Margaret 333. 

Robert, 28. 

Samuel, 7, 13, 27, 28, 164, 213. 
Green, Captain Ebenezer, 357, 383. 

Joseph, 87, 88, 90, 204, 205. 

General Nathaniel, 318. 

Olive, 387. 

Rudolphus, 27. 

Dr. Samuel A., 371. 

Dr.. 392. 

Thomas, 87, 88, 90, 93, 126. 129, 
153, 156. 200, 205, 207. 
Greenwood, Captain Miles, 214. 
Gridley, Colonel Richard, 13, 259, 

400. 
Grimes, Jonathan, 398. 
Guest, Colonel, 327. 

HACKLEY, HAWKLEY, HOCK- 
LEY. James, 28, 53. 57, 58, 87, 
88, 100, 119. 128. 129, 156, 210, 212. 
Hadley. El)enezer, 408, 409, 411. 
Phoelje, 157. 
Ruth L., 408. 
Samuel, 400. 
Thomas, 1.57, 408. 
Ilaggett, Abner, 157. 213. 214, 215. 
r.enjamin. 213. 
Martha M.. 182. 213. 
Ilaile. Colonel. 181. 
Hale Colonel Enoch. 48, .50, 110. 112, 
120, 166. 176, 177, 182, 185, 188, 
100 101, 202, 203, 2a8, 211, 216, 
222; 225, 220 238, 2.30, 241, 243, 
244, 246. 247, 258, 270 274, 270, 
285, 288, 296. 298, 30i', 315, 335, 
344, 345, 3,52, 353, 3.54. 3.55, 3.56, 
3.57. 3.59, 362. 369, 370, 376, 377, 
3S0 381, 382, 383, 384, 385, 386, 
.380, 300, 301, 302. 
Captain John, 182, 188. 
Marv. 171. 
Colonel Nathan, 66, 110, 112, 195, 

24S 263, 358, 369 404. 
Paul,' 300. 
Halfpenny. John, 87, 88, 212, 213. 
Hall. A., 210. 

William 177. 
Haml)le, Niel, 28. 
Hammlll, Joseph, 27. 
Hancock. Captain, 13. 

John. 05. OS, 2S3, 406. 
Hand. Edward. 318. 
Harper, Captain William, 172, 403. 
Hart. Colonel John, 8. 

Captain Moses. 184. 
Harvey. Rev. .Toseph, 8. 
Captain Moses. 00. 171. 
Haskell. Captain Henry. 00. 227. 
Haskins, Cantaln .Tacob, 170. 
Haviland. Colonel. 15. 19. 
Haws. Colonel Benjamin, 398. 
Ilavward. Captain Benjamin, 302. 
Hazen. Colonel Moses. 175. 316. 381. 
Heald. Lieut. -Col. Thomas. 111. 169. 

223. 289. 290, 3a5, 358, 372, 388. 
Henderson, John, 215. 
Jean T., 215. 



Index of Persons. 



417 



Joseph, 53, 118. 157, 215-217, 320. 
Hendricks, Colonel. 116. 

Captain William, 177, 188. 
Henle- Colonel David, 170, 178 179, 
224, 234, 253, 254, 257, 301, 302, 
310. 312, 826, 327. 331, 346, 350, 
351, 360. 364, 365, 398. 
Herkimer. General Nicholas, 107. 
Hill. Ann, 347. 

Isaac, 330. 

John, 238. 

Captain John, 195, 384. 
Hills, David. 74, 77. 
Hillsgrove, John. 87, 88, 399. 
Hinds. Captain Jacob, 91 384. 
Hiscotte, Major Samuel, 348. 
Hobart. Colonel David. 112, 116. 
Hodgdon. Captain Caleb, 184. 
Hogg, Agnes, 270. 

James. 218. 

John. 8, 21. 

Jerutia. 218. 

Simpson. 28, 114, 217, 218. 

Samuel 27. 218. 
Holden. Captain Abel, 302. 
Holland Stephen 266. 
Holmes, Abraham, 27. 

Elizabeth, 272. 

Elizabeth M., 218. 

Nancy, 228. 

Nathaniel, 28. 97, 118, 146, 218, 219, 
228, 229, 272. 
Holt. Stephen. 246. 
Hopkins, Lieutenant. James, 372. 
Houghton. Captain John. 195. 
House, Captain John, 195. 
Houston. John. 266. 

Isaac, 27, 111, 116, 157, 220, 222, 
223. 

Ruth. 224. 

Samuel. 27, 111, 116, 120, 220, 222, 
223. 

Sarah. 220. 

Thomas, 87, 223. 

William, 164. 
Hovey, Richard. 219, 220. 
Howe Betsev. 347. 

Jonas. 87. 88. .399. 

General Sir William. 103-108, 175. 
Howell. George W. ISO. 
Hull. Colonel. 295. 
Hunt. Bethiah. 412. 

Captain Thomas, 128, 167. 168, 203. 
Hutchins. Captain Gordon. 90. 182, 
183. 104 2.39. 

Hezeklah. 271. 

Nathaniel. 185. 387. 
Hutchinson, Lieut.-Colonel Isaac. 
220. 284. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Israel. 283. 

INGALLS. Eleazer, 282. 
& Fletcher. 378. 
& Senter. 314. 

JACKSON. Colonel Henry, .50, 118. 
123, 124. 167. 168, 170, 178. 179, 
192, 223, 224. 233. 2.34 2.52 2.53 
2.54, 255 256 257. 293". 301 ' 302 
309. 310, 326. 327, .328 331 ' 346, 
347, 350, 351, 360, 361, 364," 365, 
398, 399, 

28 



Lieutenant, 127, 377. 

Colonel Michael, 312. 
James 1st, King, 26. 
James II, King, 1. 
Jefferson, Thomas, 55. 
Jewett, Captain Aaron, 411. 

Captain Aquila, 411. 

Edward, 78. 

Ezra, 411. 

Joseph, 411. 

Mary, 411. 

vS., 311. 

Dr. Stephen, 337. 
Johnson, Colonel Simon, 121, 337. 

Philip, 326. 

Rachel, 337. 
Jones, Captain, James, 168. 

Kelly. John, 8. 

Colonel Moses, 120, 166, 223, 242, 
259, 261, 262, 263, 275. 

William, 183, 186. 
Kemp. David, 326. 

William, 87, 88, 400. 
Kennedy, Kanada. Kannedy John, 
28, 112. 118, 223, 224. 

James, 87, 88. 
Kenrick Benjamin, 36. 
Keyes, Colonel Danforth, 213. 

Captain William. Ill, 228, 237. 
Kidder. Captain James, 183. 223, 357. 
Kimball, Captain Porter, 273, 388. 
King George III, 74. 
Kittell, Andrew, 347. 
Knox, General Henry, 332. 

John. 26. 

Sylvanus, 378. 

LAFAYETTE. Marquis D., 331. 
Lakin Priscilla A.. 224. 

Robert. 125. 224. 225, 238. 

William. 2.34. 
Lanc-don. .John. 49. 62. 65. 120. 
Leavitt. Cantain. 264. 
Lpp. Samuel. 118. 129 225. 

Colonel. 224. 254 2.57. 302, 310, 327 
3.-7. 360. 365. 
r>eonard. Dnniel. 29. 

Solomon. 87. 88. 226. 
Lewis. Cantnin .Tames. 118. 304, .388. 

Lientpnant .John. 174. 

Snmuol. 110. 111. 114. 226. 227. 
Linf^oln. Gpnernl Rpniamin, 329 332, 
Litt]«. EHznbpth, 180. 

.Tospoh 281. 

Tbomns 28. 61. 90. 114. 180 226. 
T-ittlpfipld' Cant.nin Noah. 374. 
Livprmore. Captain Danipl. 186, 197. 
Lloyd. Cantain Richard. 316. 
Locke Timothv. .53, 121, 126, 127, 

128. 227. 228. 3.58. 
Lon;?. Colonel Pierce. 97 184, 200. 

216. 276. 
Lord. Cnntain, 13. 
I/orlnsr Deacon. 13. 
T,ovpwpn. Captain Nehemiah, 5, 8. 12. 
Lovpll, .Tames. 326. 
Loudon. lyord. 14. 
Loveiov. Cantain Hezekfah. 242 3.57. 

388. 
Lowell, James, 326, 



418 



Peterborough in the Revolution. 



Lunt, Captain Ezra, 398. 

M.\CAUL,KY, Thomas B.. 116. 
Mack, Daniel, 111. 118, 228, 22'J. 

Captain Elisha, 111, 345. 

Isabel B.. 228. 

John, 228. 
Maun, Captain Benjamin, 91, 354. 
Mansfield, Colonel John, 283, 284. 
Marble. Hannah, 410, 411. 
Marcy, Captain John, 91, 363. 
Marshall, James, 87, 88, 400, 401. 

Josiah, 401. 

Colonel Thomas, 181, 188, 335. 
Martindale, Captain, 325. 
Marston, Captain Simon, 259, 363. 
Mason, Ensign, 321. 

Lydla, 270. 
Mathews, John, 53, 87, 89, 100, 128, 
157, 229, 232. 

Larinia, 231. 

Sarah, 157, 231. 

Thomas, 157. 
Maynard, Samuel, 157. 
McAllister, Janet C, 232. 

Lieutenant John, 367. 

Peter, 97, 232. 

Randall, 27, 87. 88, 93, 112. 118, 
129, 156 211, 232, 235. 

William, 232. 
McClourge, Charles. 235. 

Esther, 235. 

George 8, 87, 89, 93, 96, 121, 129, 
235, 236. 

Robert, 87, 89, 96, 111, 125, 235, 236. 

Samuel 28. 
MeClure, McClurgh, Charles, 125, 

237. 
McClurgh, Robert, 237. 
McCollom, John, 14, 21. 
McConnell Captain Samuel, 97, 116, 
166, 186, 210, 220, 221, 222, 238, 
261 263, 270, 371, 372. 375. 
McCoy,' Charles, 14, 21. 28, 114, 120, 
238 239 

William, 21, 121, 238, 239. 
McDonald, Ensign, 17. 
McDouirle. General, 372, 373. 

McGonegal, , 321. 

McGregor, Rev. David, 266, 2G9. 
Mcintosh, Colonel William, 198. 
Mclntyre, Captain Samuel, 271. 
McKay. William, 28. 
McKeen, James, 87, 89, 239, 240, 373. 

John, 239. 

Mary, 239, 373. 

William, 28, 118, 240. 
McLaughlin, Captain Thomas, 209. 

210. 261. 
McLeod George, 8. 
McMillan, Archibald, 87, 89, 401. 
McNee, Mary E. B., 187, 358. 

Robert. 14, 21. 

William, 21, 27, 28, 37, 39, 101, 
118, 120, 187, 240, 358. 
Mellville. Andrew, 26. 
Miles, Captain Charles, 408. 
Miller, Alexander, 242. 

Betsey, 381. 

Hannah. 382. 

James, 90, 241, 242. 



John. 27, 53, 118, 122, 242. 
Joseph, 27, 111, 121, 242, 243. 
Marv. 180. 
Matliew, 242, 243. 
Samuel 27. 28. 114, 241, 242, 243. 
William. 27. 242. 
Millot, John. 100, 243-245, 246. 

Morris. 245. 
Milliken. Samuel. 348, 367. 
Mills. Adjutant. 175. 
Captain John. 203. 
Mitchell. Agnes, 267. 
Anna. 250. 

Benjamin. 27, 97, 114, 246, 252. 
David, 250. 
Frederick A., 246. 
Isaac, 27. 53, 100. 156, 247, 248, 249; 

250, 265, 266. 
Jane, 250. 

James, 87. 89, 111. 114. 251, 252. 
Jemima G.. 247. 

John. 27. 250, 252, 265, 266, 267. 
Margaret. 257. 
Sally. 250. 252. 
Samuel, 28, 39. 40 91, 111, 114, 118, 

246. 252. 253. 
Stephen. 246. 

William, 87, 89. 250, 255. 
Mixter, Joseph, 256. 
Mary B., 256. 
Timothy. 27, 53, 87, 89, 111, 118, 

256, 257. 
Montcalm, General. 21. 
Montgomery. General Richard. 98. 
Moonev, Colonel Hercules, 121, 191, 

195, 227, 261. 384. 
Moore, Colonel Daniel. 112, 117, 118, 

181 192, 222, 241, 242. 255. 2.59, 

260', 202. 291. 294, 304, 306. 334, 

345. 359, 372. 376, 383, 385, 388, 

390. 
David. 251. 
D.. 266. 
Isabel. 303. 
James. 87 89. 94, 97, 100, 127, 128; 

156. 248." 2,57-260. 
Jane, 247, 250. 
John. 28 260-262. 

Captain John, 90, 185. 210, 259, 262. 
Captain Joseph. 90. 280. 281. 
Margaret. 7. 199. 2.57. 
Samuel. Jr.. 27. 28. 3.5. 39. 54, 57, 

.58. 91, ni. 200. 262, 263. 264. 
William. 27. 114. 146. 218. 
Captain William. 220. 221. 
Moroy. Captain Israel. 112. 
Morison, Morrison, Abraham. 274. 
Daniel, 378. 
David. 339. 
John. 27, 91, 111, 116, 120. 270-272, 

325. 
Rev. John. 27, 72, 84, 86, 89, 92. 

144, 204-269. 345. 
Rev. John H., 86, 92. 
.Jonathan, 325. 
Margaret, 200. 

^L^rv S. 270. 272, 273. 274, 276. 
Robert, 27, 91, 97, 114, 151, 272-273. 

276. 
Samuel 28. 157. 266. 274. 278. 361. 
Captain Thomas, 28, 86, 143, 270, 



Index of Persons. 



419 



273, 276, 277, 325. 

Thomas, 27. 91, 97, 111, 114, 118, 
143. 
Morrill Major, 321. 

Captain Amos, 195, 2G1, 315, 39G, 
400. 

Morrow, Rev. , 235. 

Munroe, Monroe, Captain Edmund, 
408, 409, 410. 
Captain Josiah, 87, 88, 100, 134, 

274, 277, 278, 370. 
Murphy, John, 96, 278, 

NAY, Agnes, 357, 358. 
Elizabeth, 187, 363. 
Captain Samuel, 96, 278. 

Needham, Benjamin, 174. 

Nesmith, Captain John, 260. 
Lieutenant, 328. 

Nichols, Colonel Moses, 112, 114-116, 
120 124, 125, 145, 172, 177, 181, 
183," 190, 191, 195, 204, 218, 223, 
225 226, 227, 237, 238, 243, 246, 
25i; 259, 261, 263, 273, 274, 275, 
277 279, 280, 290, 291, 296, 340, 
341, 348, 353, 356, 357, 372, 375, 
379. 382, 388, 394, 397, 402. 
Lieutenant Samuel, 383. 

Nicholson, Commander Samuel, 328. 

Nixon, Colonel John, 174, 394, 395. 

Norcross. Joseph, 88. 

Norris, Captain James, 200. 

North. Colonel Joseph, 326. 

ORANGE, Prince of, 1. 

Osgood, Captain James, 260, 375. 

Dr. Kendall, 355 392, 393. 
Osmond, Henry, 89. 
Orr, Lieutenant St. John, 221. 

PAGE, PAIGE, Isaac, 87, 89, 401. 
Mary S.. 279. 
Captain Peter, 187. 
Reuben, 279. 
iSargent, 96, 114, 279. 
Parker Abel. 121, 125, 279, 280. 
Abiel, 121, 238, 280. 
Edmund. 284. 
Isaiah, 378. 
John, 278. 

Captain John, 224, 405, 408, 409. 
Captain Joseph, 96, 170, 201, 208, 
236, 237, 279, 288, 335, 362, 366, 
367, 368, 388, 395. 
Mary, 279. 
Obadiah, 248. 

Captain Stephen, 114, 177, 181, 190, 
218 226, 227, 238, 243, 246, 251. 
263; 276, 279, 290, 291, 296, 341, 
342 353. 382, 402. 
Sarah, 279. 
Parsons, Captain Joseph, 273. 
Patterson, Colonel John, 203. 
Payne, Nathaniel, .302. 
Payson, Thomas, 313. 
Peabody. Nathaniel, 79. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Stephen, 112. 
121, 195, 264, 272. 356. 367, 375, 
394 
Pearson, J., 291. 
Perkins, Captain Abraham, 164. 



Ebenezer, 90, 157, 280-282. 
Perry, Captain James, 270, 271. 
Phiuney, Colonel Edmund, 318. 
Phillips, Lieutenant, 18. 
Pierce, Betsey, 191. 
Pierce, Captain Henry, 283. 

William, 11. 
Pollard, Cummings, 282. 

Captain Solomon, 173, 174. 
Poor, Colonel Enoch, 50, 91. 99. 200, 

21T, 282, 286, 308, 318, 382. 
Pope, Captain Frederick, 181. 
Porter, Benjamin, 283. 

Lieutenant Billy, 284. 

Eunice N., 283. 

James, 157, 283-285. 

Captain John, 412. 
Potter Captain, 295, 411. 

Pouchot, , 20. 

Prescott, Colonel James, 411. 

Oliver, 254, 257. 

Colonel William H., 90, 93, 171, 
227, 280, 281. 
Prince, Captain Asa, 213, 214. 
Proctor, Jeremiah, 87, 89, 402, 
Proudfoot Rev. Mr.. 250. 
Pry, Captain Thomas, 381. 
Puffer. Elijah, 27, 
Pulcifer, Dorcas, 334. 
Putnam, Major Cora, 284. 

General Israel, 15, 104, 319. 

Captain Jeremiah, 214. 

Captain Philip 96, 167, 168. 

Colonel R., 337. 

Lieutenant-Colonel, 214. 

QUIMBY, Captain Aaron, 186. 

RANO, RAINO, John. 87, 89, 402, 
Rawlings, Captain Nicholas, 216, 255. 
Read, Daniel 87, 88, 402. 
Reed, Nathaniel, 276. 

Colonel Jonathan, 408. 
Reed. Colonel James, 10, 66, 91, 93, 
172 193, 208, 223, 247, 249, 252, 
253; 271, 276, 304, 353, 354, 363, 
366 374, 375, 384. 
Reid, Colonel George, 91, 118, 192, 
204, 223 237, 245, 249, 259, 263, 
270, 271,' 295, 308, 358, 369, 404. 
Reynolds (Runnels), Colonel David, 
97, 115, 121, 127, 128, 165, 168, 
173, 183 189, 195, 200, 209, 227, 
259, 261, 264, 271, 273, 294, 348, 
355, 356. 363, 372, 375, 386, 387, 
392, 397. 
Richards. Captain Samuel, 189. 396, 

400. 
Richardson, Nehemiah, 286. 
Rebecca. 286. 

Richard, 87, 89. 90, 118, 156, 285, 287. 
Richey. James, 27, 89, 129, 164, 287, 
288 
Jo"hn", 164, 287. 
Mary, 344. 
Marv W.. 287, 288. 
William, 287, 288. 
Rob, Captain. 181. 
Robbe. Agnes P., 288, 289. 
Alexander, 9, 14, 26, 27, 37, 96. Ill, 
112 165, 169, 170, 180-182, 184, 



420 



Peterborough in the Revolution. 



187, 190, 191. 196, 201, 207-210, 
212 215, 220, 222, 223 225, 226, 
240; 242, 243, 251, 253^ 255, 256, 
260 262, 265, 266, 270, 274, 276, 
279", 288, 289. 298, 300, 334, 341, 
352, 355, 356, 362, 370, 376. 383, 
385, 387, 391. 392. 
Daniel. 275, 311. 
David, 81. 89, 90, 112, 288. 
Elizabeth C, 288, 295. 
Henry, 296. 
James. 28, 293. 296. 
John, 112, 114, 119, 128, 129, 153, 
156. 190, 288, 289-293, 295, 342, 343. 
Margaret, 300, 301. 
Mary, 295. 
Nancy, 303. 
Relief. 296. 
Reuben, 314, 
Samuel, 28, 111, 118, 127, 157, 293- 

296. 
Susannah, 274. 275. 
William, 27, 28, 110, 114, 288, 289, 
293, 295, 296. 297, 311. 
Roberts, Jeduthen, 00, 90, 128. 297. 
298. 
Rebecca, 219. 
Robertson. General. 108. 
Robinson, Captain Caleb, 194, 248. 
Ephraim, 292. 
Rev. Isaac, 294. 
John, 87, 89 403. 
Captain John, 219. 
Captain Jonathan 216. 
Rogers, Lieutenant Richard, 23. 
Major Robert, 6. 7, 9. 14, 15, 16, 19 , 
20, 22, 23. 265. 
Root, Captain Hewitt. 172. 
Rounseval, Joseph, 292. 
Rowell, Captain, 404. 
Russell, Betsey, 240. 

Captain, 373. 
Ruggles, Colonel Timothy 9, 10. 
Rutgers, Henry, 236, 337. 

SALTER, Captain Titus. 195, 2(M, 
272, 3.56, 386. 

Sanderson, Sanders, Saunders, Jos- 
eph, 298. 
Ruth 298. 
Thomas, 100, 129, 29S-299. 

Sargent, Colonel Paul Dudley 36 91- 
03, 172, 176, 177, 181. 184-186, 196, 
198, 199, 200-202, 204. 205 209, 
211, 213, 216 223, 226, 229". 233, 
235-237, 239. 240. 251, 255-2.57 258. 
264. 270. 277. 285. 286. 289, 303. 
304. 306, 315, 316 318 319, .322, 
334, 352, 954, 3.55, 3.59, 361, 364, 
366, 367, 368, 370, 374 379, 381, 
392, 395, 396, 397, 398', 399, 400, 
401. 402, 403, 401, 412. 

Sartwell, Captain Simeon. 316. 

Scammell. Colonel Alexander, .50, 99, 
118. 128. 179, 186, 197, 204, 205, 
223, 234, 242, 2.59, 260, 271 278, 
302, 317, 327, 346, 347, 360' 365, 
382, 388. 

Searles, Rev. Jonathan 248. 

Schuyler, General Philip, 101, 108. 

Scott, Albert S., 5, 10. 



Alexander, 6, 9, 10-14, 293, 299 300, 

301, 301, 305. 
Archibald, 10, 299, 300. 
Colonel Charles, 10. 
David, 9, 21, 87, 89, 90, 118, 129, 

300 301-301, 305, 334. 
James, 10, 87, 88, 90, 112, 118 300, 

301, 304, 305. 334. 
Jean, 293. 

John, 28, 87, 89, 118, 150. 299, 300, 
305, 300. 

John, son of Major Scott,20 129, 
157, 300, 306, 309, 324. 

John, son of Captain Scott, 118, 
121, 129, 1.50. 156, 157, 300, 301, 
308-315, 329. 

Lewis, 300, 324. 

Margaret G., 303, 315, 334. 

Margaret R., 301. 

Phoebe W., 301. 

Rosannah T., 306. 

Thomas, .53, 87, 89, 118, 300, 315, 
310 3.'54. 

Major William, 10, 28 50, 80, 87, 
88, 90, 92, 93, 100, 119, 128, 129; 
134, 143, 145, 156, 164, 166, 167, 
171, 172, 174, 176, 177, 185, 186, 
189, 196, 199, 200, 202, 201, 205. 
209, 211, 213-215, 217 223, 225, 
226, 228, 229-231, 233, 235. 236, 239, 
240, 244, 245. 247, 248, 251, 252, 255 ; 
256-258, 262, 264, 274, 277, 278, 
285, 289, 298, 299, 300 303, 304, 
305, 306, 307, 308, 315, 316-324, 
327. 334, 336, 349, 352 354, 355, 
3.59, 361, 364, 366, 367. 368, 369, 
.370, 373, .374, 377, 378, 379, 380, 
381, 385, 386, .391, 392, 395, 396, 
397. 398, 399, 400, 401, 402, 403, 
401. 

Captain William, 10, 28, 87 89,111, 
118, 123, 124, 129, 1.34, 150, 156. 
170, 178, 179. 233. 234, 2.53, 2.56, 

299, 300. 301, 302 .309, 310 311, 324- 
333, 346, 350, 351, 360, '364, 365, 
398. 

William. 10, 28. 87, 111, 118. 299, 

300. 301. .303, 305, 315, 333. .3.34. 
William, Jr.. 27, 96, 121. 300, 334. 

Searles, Rev. Jonathan, 248. 
Senter. Lieutenant-Colonel. 260, 367. 
Shays, Captain Daniel, 406. 
Shearer, Betsey, 385. 
Shedd, George. 366. 
Shelburne. Lord 105. 
Shepard. Colonel William, 220. 221. 
Sherburne, Colonel Henry 224, 254, 

302, 310. 327, 360, 365. ' 
Sherman, Captain Isaac 194. 
Sherman, General William T., 114. 
Sias. Captain Benjamin, 261, 26.3. 
Silk. Michael, 100. 128, 335, 336. 
Smilev. Agnes, 344. 

David. 118, 121, 124. 127, 156 1.57, 

337-340. 
Elias. 340. 
Francis .3.39. 
John, 3.37, 339. 
Polly, 339. 
Smith, Captain Abijah, 96, 97 190, 
219, 246, 259, 276, 344, 359. 



Index of Persons. 



421 



Dr. Albert, 6, 8, 11, 85. 92, 142, 163 . 
247, 283, 406, 409. 

Calvin. 302. 

Elizabeth M.. 340-344. 

Elizabeth, 384, 392. 

James, 27, 111, 340-341. 

Jeremiah 27. 114, 119, 129, 175, 290, 
293, 341-343, 347. 

John, 27, 28, 95, 343, 344, 384. 

Jonathan, 285, 306, 373. 

Josiah. 181, 335. 

Mary H.. 344. 

Robert 27, 344. 

Robert, Jr.. 28, 97. 

Samuel, 87, 89, 285, 373, 395, 396. 

Thomas, 27, 110, 111, 118, 120, 344, 
345 

William, 28, 35. 53-55, 143, 210, 213, 
238, 239, 340-344, 391. 
Spaer, Margaret, 248. 
Spalding. Colonel Benjamin, 125, 191, 
225, 237, 280, 379. 

Captain Levi, 172. 

Zaccheus, 378. 
Spear, Captain John, 175, 

Moor, 347. 

Samuel, 121, 156, 157, 346, 347. 

William, 28, 346. 
Spofford. Abijah, 348. 

Amos. 53, 57, 58, 126-128, 129, 156, 
348-350. 

Mary T., 348. 
Spurr, Captain, 175. 
Stanford, A. W., 351, 352. 

Caleb, 67, 352. 

Fanny, 165. 

James, 112, 118., 350. 351. 

Joseph. 87, 89, 3.50, 352. 

Ruth C, 352. 
Stark. Caleb. 67. 

General John, 19, 23, 50, 51, 66, 67, 
90. 91, 92, 93, 99, 100, 112. 113. 
115. 116, 117. 125, 126, 166, 182, 
185, 188, 194, 195, 200. 206, 207, 
209, 210, 221. 223, 238, 239, 241, 
255, 259. 260, 261. 262 263, 270, 
272, 274, 285. 290, 292," 298, 315, 
317, 319, 330, 343, 361, 363, 367, 
372, 375. 380, 389, 396, 399, 400, 
402. 
Steele, David, 28, 40, 123, 246. 

David Jr., 27, 246. 

Frederick A. 246. 

John. 214, 285, 313, 330. 

Jonathan, 28. 

Margaret, 246, 343. 

Martha, 246. 

Stephen P., 246. 285. 

Thomas. 27. 111. 
Stevens Ephraim, 28, 100, 129, 352, 
353. 

Captain Simon, 243. 
Steuben. Baron, 17.5. 
Stickney, Colonel Thomas. 112. 114, 
lie, 194 210, 220, 221 222, 238, 
261 262." 263. 270. 375, 4(M. 
Stiles Captain, 318, 367. 
Stlnson. James. 87, 89, 354. 

Margaret, 3.54. 

Moor, 11, 354. 

Samuel, 11. 14, 354. 



St. Leger, General Barry, 103, 104, 

105, 106. 
Stoodley, Mary, 373. 
Stone, Captain Ephraim 121, 187, 
191, 384, 386, 387. 

Captain Solomon, 114, 135. 

& Wilson 267. 
Stroud, John, 91. 114, 128, 354, 355, 
Stuart, Stewart, Alexander. 27, 84, 
89 355 

Charles, "27, 111, 120 355, 356. 

John, 14. 21, 97, 112, 115, 356, 357. 

Margaret 260. 

Martha, 355. 

Mary Queen, 26. 

Rachel, 209. 

Thomas, 27, 265 266. 

William, 21, 355. 
Sumner, Captain, 73. 
Swan, Alexander, 359. 

Elizabeth P., 359. 

Gustavus, 362. 

Isabel W., 362. 

James, 157. 

Jane. 195. 

Jeremiah, 14, 21. 

John, 11, 14, 87, 88, 97, 112, 118, 
156, 227, 228, 28*. 357-362. 

Mary. 199. 

Peggy, 252. 

Robert, 28. 96, 111, 362. 

William. 11, 21, 27, 111, 362. 
Sullivan, General John, 30, 47, 94, 

231, 269, 284, 320. 321. 
Sykes, Captain Richard, 7. 
Simonds. John, 405. 

Aiary T., 405. 

Rebecca, 4(B, 408. 

TAGGART Barbara, 359. 

Dudley. 164. 

Heeland. .387. 

Lieutenant James. 89. 91, 157, 363. 

James, 27, 97, 118. 192. 364-366. 

Ensign John, 96. 157, 366, 367, 

John, 12, 28. 66. 87, 89. 112 118, 
119. 129, 181, 208, 223 233, 2.58, 
266, 267, 289-290 304, 305, 350, 
3.57. 358, 359, 363, 367. 368, 369. 

Mary, 348. 

Mary Ann. 364. 

Martha 387. 

Nancv, 192. 

Sarah. 359. 
Tait. Rosanna, .319. 324. 
Tash. Colonel Thomas 97, 271, 273, 

274, 348. 356. 
Taylor. Hannah G., 370. 

Isaiah. 120, 370. 

Joseph 89. 93, 95, 129, 370. 

Nancv. 240. 

Samuel. 370. 
Temple. Isaac. 293. 

Margaret. .347. 

Thomas, 164. 
Templeton. James, 27, 101, 238. 

Jane, 2.38. 

John. 192, 364. 

Matthew. 27. 
Thayer, Christopher, 1.57, 412. 

Mary M., 412. 



422 



Peteriorough in the Revolution. 



Thomas, Captain Othniel, 127, 200, 

2'M, 387, 3'J2. 
Captaiu rhilip, 91, 208. 
Thompson. James, 87, 395. 

Jenny, 2G2. 

Uobert, 202. 
Thornton, Colonel, 64, 197. 
Tidd. Charles, 411. 
Tisdale, Captain James, 220. 
Tovvne, Captain Ezra, 91, 193, 247, 
249, 252, 253, 27G, 304, 353. 

Captain Francis, 97, 232, 3Gi, 380, 
385. 
Todd, Alexander, 12, 13. 

Hannah M., 371. 

John, 157, 371, 373. 

Samuel, 371. 
Treadwell, Samuel, 87, 89, 373, 374. 
Trescott, Captain Lemuel, 170, 178, 

234, 351, 3U0, 304. 
Trevelyan, George Otto, 105. 

234, 351, 360, 364. 
Tucker. John, 87, 89, 403. 
Turner, Jane, 12, 21. 

John, 14, 21. 

Joseph. 12, 13. 

Sally, 172. 

Solomon, 12. 

Thomas, 12, 28. 
Tuttle, Mary, 213. 
Twiss, Peter, 157. 
Tyler, Colonel Nathan, 214. 

Isaiah. 28. 

VARNUM. Joseph, 78. 

Vose, Colonel Joseph, 128, 203. 

WADE. Colonel Nathaniel, 127. 220, 

338. 
Wait, Captain Jason, 188, 285, 286, 
369, 404. 
Ensign, 17. 
Walker, Captain Abel, 226, 283. 

Timothy, 354. 
Wallace, Anna, 235. 
Wallace, Wallis, David, 14, 21. 
Elizabeth, 227, 235. 
John, 60, 91, 100, 361, 274-376. 
Mathew, 13, 21, 53, 54. 56, 234, 

349, 361, 365. 
Samuel, 13. 
Susannah, 27. 
William, 21, 227, 235. 
Walley, Thomas, 234. 
Ward, Greneral Artemas, 113. 
Ware, Captain Richard, 204, 278. 
Warner, Colonel Seth, 117. 
Washburn. Jacob, 378. 
Washington. General George, 47, 68, 
93, 94, 97. 101. 106, 108. 112, 124, 
126. 128, 179, 318, 321, 327, 338, 344- 
Colonel, 223. 
Webster, Captain Ebenezer, 240. 
Colonel John, 3&3. 
Captain Stephen. 124, 337. 
Weekman, Eunice, 315. 
Wellington. Sarah, 411. 
Wentworth, Governor Benning, 255, 
354. 
Governor John, 24, 30 37, 38, 41, 
60, 84, 139, 265. 



John 34. 

Captain Jonathan, 282. 
Wesson. Isaac, 229. 

Lucy B., 2:^9. 

Sally, 229. 
Wetherbee, Captain Samuel, 301. 
Wheeler, .iViuos, 378. 

Nathan, 248. 
Wheelock, Abigail F., 376. 

Anna D., 370. 

Gershom, 370. 

Jonathan, 28, 111, 376. 

Jonathan, Jr., 118, 127, 157, 376-378. 

Lewis, 379. 

Sarah It., 379. 

Timothy, 379. 
Whipple, Lieutenant Ezra 214. 

Colonel William, 111', VM, 210, 390. 
Whitcomb. Colonel Asa, 318, 400, 407. 

Major Benjamin, 120, 187, 297 ,387. 

Captaiu Klisha, 100. 

Captain Jonathan, 374. 
Whitney, Colonel Josiah, 406. 
White, Arthur, 284. 

Charles, 27, 87, 88, 97, 120, 157, 
379-381. 

David, 27, 87, 89, 121, 381. 

Ensign, 17. 

James, 114 121, 382. 

Jane W., 381, 382, 385. 

Dr. John, 383. 

John, Sr., 28, 91, 110, 111, 118, 379, 
382-384. 

John, Jr., 27, 121, 384, 385. 

John, 3d, 27, 167, 339. 

Mary W., 379. 

Molly W. 167. 

Nancy, 107. 

Patrick, 379, 381, 382, 384, 385. 

William, 27, 97, 118, 385, 386. 
Wier, Ann, 243. 

Samuel, 118, 129, 386. 
Wigglesworth Samuel, 64. 
Wilder, Captain Aaron, 5. 

Deborah, 175. 

Colonel Oliver, 6, 11. 
Wilkins, Captain Daniel, 183, 241. 

Robert B., 245, 246. 
Willard, Colonel Abijah, 7. 

Captain Aaron, 6, 9, 11. 
Williams. John, 266. 

Mary, 226. 

Mary P., 386. 

Simon, 268, 269. 

Thomas, 127, 386, 387. 

William, 386. 
Wilson, Benjamin, 326. 

Hugh, 21, 26. 28, 143, 387. 

George 87. 89, 90. 401, 405. 

General James, 13, 334. 

James. 27, 85, 387, 388. 

Captain Jesse. 10. 275, 388. 

John 28. 30, 87, 89. 

Major Robert, 9. 10, 13, 26, a5, 86, 
93. 114, 115, 145-146, 389, 390. 

Samuel, 27. 

Titus. 66, 118, 119, 129, 391. 

William, 14, 21, 235. 
Winchester, Widow, 196. 
Winship, Thomas, 408. 

Hannah, 408. 



Index of Persons. 



423 



Phoebe. 408. HO. 
Wingate. Colonel Joshua, 96. 12a 
IS*. 260 262. 272, 273, 278, 345, 
363. 372. 374. 396. 
Winslow. Colonel. IL 
Wolfe. General. 13. 
Wood Annas. 362. 
Colonel Ezra. 411. 
Captain John. 406. 
Woodbiidge. Colonel Benjamin EL, 

9<"i. 93. 297. 
Woodcock. Michael. 28, 87, S9, 121, 
12S, 391, 392. 



Woodnmn. Captain Joshua, 363. 
Worthen. Captain Erckiel. 272. 
Wriffht Captain SamneL 204. 3SS. 

Silas. 293. Si:©. 
Wj-man. Colonel Isaac. 64, 96. 170, 
172. 1S3. 201. 20S, 236. 237. 271. 
279. 2SS^. 335. 361, 362. 366, 367, 
36S. 3S5. 3S6. 403. 404. 
Captain Jesse. 406. 

YOUNG. Dr. John. 26, 28. 114. 121. 

291. 392-394. 
ToungloTe, Marcia, 306. 30Q. 



ERBATl, 



On page 28, John Smith, in the 24th line, was not in the Revolution. 
On page 125, 16th line, after Abel Parker, insert Levris Wheelock. 
On page 177, 19th line, in place of William Kendrick, read William 

Hendrick, 
On page 195, 17th line, in place of Thomas Salter, read Titus Salter. 
On page 240, 23d line, in place of William Findlay, read Joseph 

Findlay. 
On page 2S9, in 22d line, in place of Mass., read Vermont 
On page 295, in third from last line, in place of Moody Austin, read 

Moody Dustin. 
On page 299, last line, for Ackworth, read Antrim. 
On page 370, Joseph Taylor was not in service April 20-23, 1775. 



JUL 28 1913 



